6 minute read
Fail to plan – plan to fail
The AA has said that more needs to be done to promote on-street charging in order to meet the Department for Transport’s deployment estimates for electric vehicles.
This is in response to figures which show that, despite a huge surge in electric vehicle uptake, the number of public charge points, especially in urban and rural areas, has not kept up.
HOW MANY IS ENOUGH? The DfT’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy outlines future chargepoint requirements, estimating that between 280,000 and 720,000 public charge points could be required in 2030 to support the transition to EVs.
The AA has emphasised the need for action to make sure that these ambitious targets are met. This comes as no surprise to me, nor I suspect to many readers! The AA is highlighting what many of us know is a major issue for all professional drivers switching to electric vehicles, whether they be taxi, private hire or delivery drivers.
Unfortunately the majority of local authorities are not responding to the level of Government support available, or matching the pace of EV uptake. They seem to be stuck in the metaphorical headlights of EVs, preferring to skirt the issue of planning and installing charging infrastructure entirely or installing too little, far too late.
Only 87 out of almost 400 councils across the UK have applied for the on-street residential charging scheme (ORCS) since 2017 – a tiny £20 million pot made available 5 years ago, but a fund which is ongoing as the money has yet to be spent!
So if councils can’t spend £20m, what hope is there for the new £450m Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund that was made available in April for councils to implement on-street charging and additional rapid DC chargers?
The significance of this initiative and the size of the fund is considerable. It has the potential to make a huge difference, especially to professional on-demand drivers. However, as is often the case, implementation will be key. Is it any wonder that I feel anxious about this headline-grabbing announcement, considering past efforts to spend infrastructure money up for grabs?
LACK OF INTENTION AND A LACK OF INSIGHT Besides a lack of intent by the majority of LAs, those that are deploying chargers reveal a shocking lack of planning and co-ordination.
Those LAs that can be bothered to apply for funding and implement charging (with the exception of Oxford) do so in an outdated fashion, unable to grasp the evolving requirements of EV drivers going forward. This lack of insight simply means they are storing up problems, or waiting for them to materialise.
Besides consultancy services, my company provides installation services and I find it immensely frustrating the number of chargers we are contracted to deploy by LAs which I know are already past their ‘sellby-date’ both in terms of their intrinsic design and the locations they are being installed. This is despite our best efforts to advise accordingly.
The problem is that too many LAs have employed decision-makers in positions who are out of their depth, and making decisions based on illconceived rationale.
It is too late by the time we are brought in to install as the money has already been spent on what are essentially poor hardware and software solutions. Slow charge points with the wrong connectors that might be OK for a first-generation EV built a decade ago, but are too slow to charge the latest electric cars.
Few LAs consider the value of appraising options and consulting with industry professionals who appreciate the speed in which the market and the overall mobility landscape is evolving. Too proud perhaps, to ask for an opinion?
If LAs were to deploy consultancy before implementation, a ton of tax-payers’ cash could be saved by installing chargers that are fit for purpose. Proper insight and strategy will prevent the deployment of what are already “stranded assets”.
A LOST CAUSE? Following the announcement of the LEVI fund in March, I scheduled a call within three days to talk with key decision makers in Birmingham City Council, who operate a Band D Clean Air Zone (CAZ), affecting all vehicles entering the zone.
This was to discuss the availability of £450m LEVI funding to deploy on-street charging and rapid DC charging for drivers without private parking. Many of these are ondemand drivers desperately considering the need and requirement to switch to electric.
I was hoping for some progressive discussions on how we can deploy innovative ways to help drivers without private parking to go electric and use the public funds available to do so.
Instead, we were met with a complete stonewall. A blinkered panel of short-sighted decision makers who had already cemented their opinion on matters by announcing that they’d already committed to installing rapid charging hubs. On-street charging wasn’t even open for discussion.
For Birmingham’s professional drivers, this means that any part of the £450m LEVI fund available for on-street and adjacent DC rapid deployment has been dismissed.
RESTRICTION OF TRADE Considering the necessity of suitable on-street charging for on-demand drivers without private parking, it is a travesty that decision makers are making the transition to EVs unviable for many on-demand drivers. This to me, is a serious matter that could even constitute a restriction of trade.
LEVELLING UP There are already issues around the vending of electricity for public charging which is liable to 20% VAT. Those with private parking are able to charge on far cheaper rates, off-peak, overnight from around 7p per kWh, and incurring only 5% VAT.
There are lot’s of innovative ways to overcome the disparities between public and home charging that could level things up for those that either live in apartment blocks or houses without drives. But what hope is there of making these happen if LAs are blinkered and ignorant to what can be done or what is actually needed?
TAKING ACTION If the government delegates the duty of implementing funds for on-street charging to LAs, which then don’t act accordingly or appropriately, it is the drivers and businesses who will suffer.
I believe it now needs to be mandatory for any LA that establishes a CAZ to have to apply for LEVI funding and implement it in a proper valid way, putting the needs of professional drivers first, and after meaningful consideration of all the factors shaping our future mobility.
Does it frustrate you that funds are available and are not implemented? How does this influence your decisions regarding going electric? Have your say, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and let me know!
