Homeowners who have no private drive but have ambitions of owning an electric car have received a boost with news that an additional £2.5 million will be made available to increase the number of charge-points on residential streets.
With millions of UK car owners having to park in the road overnight, the problem of charging the car to be ready for the morning commute is very real and potentially putting off many from purchasing an electric vehicle.
But now the UK government has announced that it is double its spend on electric car charge-points to help fund an additional 1,000 points on residential streets. The spending is part of the huge £1.5 billion Road to Zero fund.
“It’s fantastic that there are now more than 20,000 publicly accessible charge-points,” said the new transport secretary, Grant Shapps.
“But we want to do more. It’s vital that electric vehicle drivers feel confident about the availability of charge-points near their homes, and that charging an electric car is seen as easy as plugging in a smartphone.”
“That’s why we are now doubling the funding available for local authorities to continue building the infrastructure we need.”
The charge points are expected to be built into the existing electric infrastructure causing as little disruption to roads as possible, with London already moving ahead and installing EV charging points into lamp posts.