New directions of travel

Rapid rise in public chargepoints

UK has 30,290 public EV chargepoints, DfT data reveals

The number of public electric vehicle charging devices continues to grow, reveals latest statistical bulletin from the Department for Transport (DfT). The total number of chargepoints available to the public has increased by a third over the past year. As of the beginning of April 2022 there were 30,290 public electric vehicle charging devices available in the UK, of which 5,494 were rapid units.

Since 1 April 2021, the number of public devices has increased by 33%, corresponding to 7,500 devices. The number of rapid devices increased by 29%, with an additional 1,235 public devices.

When compared to 1 January 2022 the number of available devices increased by 1,915, up 7%. Over the same period the number of rapid devices increased by 338, again an increase of 7%.

There was an increase in total and rapid devices across all regions of the UK, reports the DfT. However, there is an uneven geographical distribution of charging devices within the UK.

“Some UK local authorities have bid for UK government funding for charging devices, and others have not,” notes the department. “Most of the provision of this infrastructure has been market-led, with individual charging networks and other businesses (such as hotels) choosing where to install devices.”

London and Scotland had the highest level of charging provision per 100,000 of population, with 111 and 54 devices per 100,000 respectively. In comparison, the average provision in the UK was 45 per 100,000.

Northern Ireland had the lowest level of charging device provision in the UK, with 18 devices per 100,000, followed by the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber with 26 and 27 devices per 100,000 respectively.

Scotland had the highest rate of rapid device provision of 13.6 rapid devices per 100,000, whilst the average provision in the UK was 8.2 per 100,000. Rapid device provision was lowest for Northern Ireland and Wales, with 1.3 and 5.8 rapid devices per 100,000 respectively.

An interactive map of this data is available online.

All regions across the UK saw an increase in total charging devices between January and March 2022. London had the greatest increase at 9.4%, whilst Northern Ireland and the North West had the smallest increases at 0.9% and 3.7% respectively.

London also had the greatest increase in absolute number of devices at 863 devices, contributing to 45% of the increase in devices across the UK in this period.

Rapid charging devices have increased in every region in the UK. The smallest percentage increase in the number of rapid devices was in London at 1.9%. Northern Ireland had the largest percentage increase in rapid devices at 13.6%, corresponding to an increase of three rapid devices.

“The number of available devices can fluctuate for a range of reasons,” writes the department. “Increases likely reflect the installation of new devices, whilst owners and operators can choose to temporarily or permanently decommission or replace devices. Charging devices can also be unavailable due to faults, maintenance or other restrictions in the area where they are located.”

The charging device location data is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zap-Map and represents devices reported as operational at midnight on 1 April 2022. Zap-Map reports that it covers 95% of publicly accessible devices.

The DfT said: “True counts are likely to be higher and it has no way of assessing whether data coverage is better in some geographical areas than others. There are no other sources with such comprehensive coverage against which we could verify the Zap-Map devices.

“As of 11 April 2022, the National Chargepoint Registry (NCR) covers 20,916 devices so cannot be used to verify the Zap-Map counts. The NCR, whilst covering fewer devices, does contain more detailed information on each charging device including the exact location and number of connectors.”

Rapid charging devices per 100,000 population: 1 April 2022

Source: DfT

DfT launches transport decarbonisation toolkits

The UK government has published an online toolkit offering advice to local authorities on planning and taking measures to reduce carbon emissions from transport.

The Transport Decarbonisation Plan recognised the role local areas and regions have in reducing emissions from transport. As part of the plan the Department for Transport (DfT) committed to support this work by publishing a toolkit for local authorities.

The toolkit, which has been developed in partnership with Energy Saving Trust, covers themes such as zero-emission buses, active travel, car clubs, freight and rural transport.

The online collection seeks to assist local authorities by: highlighting the benefits of different interventions; setting out the actions local authorities can take to reduce carbon emissions; sharing best practice and lessons learnt from case studies of successful schemes already delivering local benefits; and signposting local authorities to other published guidance and methodologies

In parallel, a range of advice for local authorities on electric vehicle charging infrastructure has also been published.

The DfT said: “The toolkit is one example of how we are supporting local authorities to decarbonise transport. We will also make quantifiable carbon reductions a fundamental part of local transport planning and funding and are currently updating our guidance on local transport plans to help local authorities do this. We plan to publish the new guidance, along with technical advice on quantifying carbon in this context later in 2022.”

The Transport Decarbonisation Toolkit

The local authority toolkit comprises guidance notes on these themes: • Active travel • Car clubs • Decarbonising road freight, servicing and deliveries • Demand responsive transport • Lift sharing • Transport in rural areas • Zero-emission buses • Zero-emission fleets.