The UK government has doubled the funding available for on-street residential EV charge points to encourage more sustainable forms of travel as Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the government will commit a further £10m to the scheme, allowing local authorities to install up to 7,200 devices.
Further efforts to encourage drivers to make the switch include the upcoming launch of a consultation, which hopes to make charging EVs “just as easy as filling up a traditional petrol or diesel car”, the government said in a statement.
It will explore measures such as requiring rapid charging points – which are fundamental for longer journeys – to offer contactless payment, improving transparency on pricing and giving drivers better access to information about the chargepoints available on their journey.
Shapps said: “The car industry has of course been very badly hit during this crisis, but April’s new sales figures showed – for the first time – that the two biggest selling models were both electric vehicles.
“So, to help keep this quiet, clean car revolution going, I can also announce £10m of additional support for car-charging points on our streets.
“The car will remain the mainstay for many families and, as well as backing electric infrastructure, we’re going to accelerate the filling of pot-holes that plague so many road users.”
The announcement formed part of Shapps’ Covid-19 briefing, where he also revealed a series of measures designed to reduce the burden on public transport networks unable to operate at full capacity due to social distancing rules.
These include a £250m emergency active travel fund as part of a £2bn investment in walking and cycling, and bringing forward the start of e-scooter trials from next year to next month.
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