The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that it is doubling funding to £10m for the installation of EV charge points on residential streets next year.
The government is also considering how real-time information can also be made readily available, helping reduce waiting times by showing which charge points are currently being used.
The additional money could fund up to another 3,600 charge points across the country and make charging at home and overnight easier for those without an off-street parking space.
The government is also looking at how to make information about all public charge points including locations and power ratings openly available in a standard format for the first time.
The DfT will look at how real-time information could be published, showing whether charge points are in working order and currently in use, which could then be used by developers and incorporated into sat navs and route mapping apps
According to the government, more than 17,000 devices providing over 24,000 publicly available charge points (of which over 2,400 are rapid charge points) have been installed.
The UK reportedly now has one of the largest charging networks in Europe with more locations for drivers to charge their car than there are petrol stations.
The government has already challenged industry to provide debit and credit card payment at all newly installed rapid charge points and develop a roaming solution across the charging network, allowing EV drivers to use any public charge point through a single app or payment method.
