The first of the two planned EV community charging hubs in Milton Keynes is now operational at Saxon Gate in central Milton Keynes.
This hub is part of the Milton Keynes Go Ultra Low City Scheme (GULCS), created using funding from the UK government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV). The GULCS has already created the Electric Vehicle Experience Centre, which is located within The Centre:MK.
The Saxon Gate Community Hub has been designed to provide facilities for EV owners and business users who do not have dedicated off-street parking. It provides three 7kW charge posts aligned to provide six parking bays where vehicles can be charged over several hours, the hub also provides three new 50kW rapid chargers, each with its own parking bay where users can charge a vehicle more quickly.
All the charge posts at the hub are provided by BP Pulse and will be available for all EV drivers. The hub has been constructed to complementing the existing Milton Keynes Council charging scheme.
Furthermore, the Saxon Gate Community Hub will also host an EV car club operated by Enterprise Car Club with five new Nissan Leafs based at the hub. The car club will provide EVs that can be rented by the hour or day, with 24/7 access 365 days of the year.
Members can see the live state of charge and mileage range on every Enterprise Car Club EVs when they book on the website. This enables drivers to be certain the vehicle will have enough power for the journey they are planning to make, bringing extra peace of mind.
Dan Gursel, managing director of Enterprise Car Club, said: “The hub means users can rest assured that they can recharge vehicles quickly when they need to and be confident driving an electric vehicle.
“The hub boosts access to shared electric vehicles when people need to use a car or for people who want to switch to electric motoring without buying a vehicle. Car clubs can help to facilitate the transition to zero-emission motoring and enable more people to try electric vehicles and become more familiar with how they work. They allow people to pay only when they need to use a vehicle, and to try an electric vehicle before they buy one.”
Additionally, users who sign up to become a member of Enterprise Car Club in Milton Keynes will also have access to more than 1,400 vehicles located in 180 towns, cities and communities across the UK.
The hubs are being delivered for Milton Keynes Council, by an eFIS led consortium which includes BP Pulse, Enterprise Car Club, University of Warwick and Arup.
