The Mayor of London, together with London Councils and Transport for London (TfL), is investing £4m across 29 of the city’s boroughs to install 1,000 new EV charging points in residential areas.
From 28 December 2019, EV users can access a new charging hub in Stratford, allowing six vehicles at a time to rapid charge. The new hub – with grant funding from TfL and operated by EV charging network provider Engenie – is the first of five planned across the capital as part of London’s EV Infrastructure Plan.
The six 50kW rapid chargers provide connectors that are fully accessible to all EV drivers, including taxis, allowing them to pay for charging with a tap of a contactless card or smart phone, with no registration or membership required.
This announcement builds on work that has already seen 1,500 charging points installed across the capital to help Londoners without access to off-street parking, using solutions such as retrofitting lamp posts.
The £4m allocated to boroughs is part of a £13m award London received from the UK government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ Go Ultra Low City Scheme, a nationwide programme to increase EV use and tackle air pollution and climate change.
Earlier this month, TfL hit its target of 225 rapid charging points across the capital before the end of the year. London’s rapid charge network now totals over 300 points, with some points dedicated exclusively for almost 3,000 electric taxis currently on the road.
And as of 1 January 2020, all newly licensed private hire vehicles that are less than 18 months old will need to be plug-in hybrid, electric or hydrogen vehicles.
Christina Calderato, TfL’s head of transport strategy and planning, said: “We know that a comprehensive network of charging points is essential if we are to persuade drivers to ditch polluting diesel vehicles and swap them for electric alternatives.
“Installing 1,000 more residential charging points across the capital means more Londoners can plug their vehicle in while at home, even if they don’t have a driveway.
“For those that need to charge up in 20-30 minutes, London is one of the leading world cities for rapid charge points. The addition of the east hub in Stratford is the first super charging facility, allowing drivers easy access and convenient methods of payment.”
Compared to the rest of the UK, London is currently leading in EV infrastructure with a quarter of all charge points in the country found in the capital.
