Do EV charge points really help us?

MORE charging points for electric vehicles is something we should all welcome in the drive to combat climate change.

But a new investigation reveals that in many cases charge points are a major obstacle for disabled people – and undermining other efforts to help the planet.

Climate charity Possible has found electric vehicle (EV) charge points are “invading pavements” with significant impacts on anyone making walking or wheeling trips, especially those with a disability.

A report from Possible, with support from disabled cycling charity Wheels for Wellbeing, shows while London has made the most progress on public charge points in the UK, 2,500 have been installed on pavements – despite this being explicitly recommended against in the Government’s national EV strategy.

The charities are now calling on Active Travel England and the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles to agree on a country-wide set of common principles to ensure charge points do not obstruct walking and wheeling, and are accessible to all road users.

Leo Murray, co-director at Possible, said: “Our investigation reveals that space is being taken from pedestrians and given to private cars instead of the other way around. It is right that drivers without off-street parking are supported to switch to electric vehicles.

“However, it is deeply ironic that we are paying councils to enable private cars to invade precious pavement space in the name of the environment.

“Ensuring active travel is a viable option for all is just as important for meeting climate targets as changing the way cars are fuelled, but to do that, we need to be removing clutter from footways, not adding to it.”

The Government has said that around half a million public EV charge points will need to be installed by 2030 in order to meet demand from drivers under net zero plans. But they also want half of all short trips in towns and cities to be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030, with de-cluttering pavements officially recognised as an essential part of enabling more trips to be made by active travel.

Possible also points out that for disabled people who do not use private vehicles, electric vehicle charge points are just a new obstacle on the street.

And even disabled people who do have access to cars, and would like to switch to EVs, have found the overwhelming majority of public charge points totally inaccessible.