UK’s Sleazy Transport Agenda: Bribes GoMetro with £147,000 Grant to Promote Electric Vehicle Hooey
In a shocking move, the UK government has handed over £147,000 (R3.3 million) in "funding" to South African-founded B2B software-as-a-service fleet management company GoMetro, just months after the company raked in £9 million (R205 million) in Series A funding from Zenobē Energy and Futuregrowth Asset Management. The grant is part of the UK’s Freight Innovation Fund, designed to "support" the logistics industry in decarbonizing its operations.
GoMetro’s CEO and founder, Justin Coetzee, is over the moon with the deal, claiming the grant will be used to "finance" a six-month trial with two logistics companies – Maritime Transport and Welch’s Transport – to implement its EV-FIT solution, which promises to transform their electric vehicle fleets and bridge its fleet management software platform. Because, you know, the world is running out of faith in private transport.
But, let’s be real, this is all about greenwashing. The UK government is trying to make it seem like it’s making a positive impact on the environment by throwing money at companies that are already interested in going green. Meanwhile, the reality is that these companies are only doing this to reap the benefits of government funding, tax breaks, and social media attention.
"Data is fundamental to decarbonizing UK road freight, and we have the tools needed to unlock key insights for the industry," says GoMetro’s project lead, Christopher de Saxe. But what he doesn’t mention is that the real problem is the lack of infrastructure, not just a lack of data. And what about the environmental impact of producing all these new electric vehicles?
The grant is part of the UK’s Department for Transport’s £7 million (R160 million) investment in the Freight Innovation Fund, which is meant to support the freight sector in deploying artificial intelligence and automation to "improve" the way trains, lorries, vans, and ships carry goods. But let’s be honest, this is just a thinly veiled attempt to crush small businesses and push them into the abyss of corporate greed.
The UK’s government is no stranger to using taxpayer funds to prop up failing businesses. Remember the infamous Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic? Yeah, it got a £30 million grant from the UK government in 2013, only to shut down its test flights in 2014. What a waste of public money!
This crony capitalism is what’s wrong with the UK’s economic system. It’s a game of musical chairs, where the ones with the deepest pockets get the most benefits, and everyone else is left to do without. The UK’s Freight Innovation Fund is just another example of how the government distort the market to favor the already-wealthy.
So, let’s call this for what it is – a handout to please the 1% while the rest of the population is stuck in traffic.
