Affordable EV charging still a distant dream as progress stalled under Labor

Critics might say the same problems have been evident for years, but Reed resists the suggestion that market competition will not allow faster progress in making tollpoints accessible, with CPOs focused most intently on capturing market share or investor returns. She also said now is not the time to regulate accessibility standards.

“We are under enormous pressure from the government, the automotive sector and drivers to build infrastructure. So we have to do that and also make sure that we don’t leave anyone behind; those two things have to go in parallel,” she said. “It is also funded by private sector investment, so it needs to be commercially viable.”

Reid also rejected the suggestion that PAS 1899 does not work. “Publishing the standard two years ago was an important step because nothing had been written down about what was required before. I think the level of awareness in the electric vehicle industry among COOs, investors and the people we work with has increased dramatically. So there’s no doubt that it had an impact,” she said.

“The challenge now is to figure out what’s possible,” Reed said. “All these problems that we have identified are not that we say no, but that we cannot do what is described now. So can we find an alternative way of doing things that still meets the needs?”

Our campaign

Auto Express launched the ‘Equal Access for All’ campaign for charging infrastructure after being invited to witness charity Disabled Motoring UK’s inspection of Brighton and Hove City Council’s public charging stations in October 2021.

Even then, the accessibility issues faced by drivers using public chargers and the challenges faced by charging point providers were well understood. Our campaign included the first public independent review of the draft proposals for PAS 1899, which exposed its ineffectiveness and helped reimagine the standard to make it more robust. We will continue to support calls for affordable charging until the issue is resolved.

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