NISSAN'S all-electric van is making light work of maintaining Liverpool's two road tunnels as the city's transport body plugs in to the future of motoring.

Merseytravel, the local transport executive, has added three e-NV200 Combis to its fleet of 40 vehicles for use by maintenance teams.

The eNV200s - which cost an average of 2p a mile to run - are being used to transport workers and their tools around the Merseytravel estate including the various bus stations, three ferry terminals, seven tunnel ventilation stations and the two Mersey road tunnels - Queensway and Kingsway.

With 90,000 vehicles crossing underneath the River Mersey every day, it's Merseytravel's job to ensure that the tunnels are effectively maintained in the most cost effective way.

And by using the e-NV200, fuel costs are substantially reduced while the local air quality is also improved as the vans don't emit any exhaust emissions.Councillor Liam Robinson, chair of Merseytravel, said: "Our vision is for electric and other low emission vehicles to play a role in developing a vibrant low carbon economy across the region.

"The introduction of more electric vehicles to our own fleet is another major step forward."

Last year Merseytravel took an all-electric Nissan LEAF as one of its pool cars.

Merseytravel has also launched its ‘Recharge' initiative, a government-funded project to provide a network of charging points at key locations to encourage and support electric vehicle ownership throughout the Liverpool City Region and West Cheshire.

So far 30 charges have been installed at locations including âSeacombe ferry terminal, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Broad Green Hospital and Liverpool John Lennon Airport.