Electric Car Charging Schemes
Electric car charging schemes are springing up across the UK in response to the rapid growth in charging points within UK cities. These are public or privately run charging networks, where for a small subscription, you get access to a network of charging points (usually through a special electronic tag which gives you access to the charging posts) plus a range of perks (charging cable, free parking in certain areas, points etc) but you do pay for the electricity you use.
There are only a few networks at the moment and only the London one really offers comprehensive coverage of the city but this is changing. We will try to keep this up to date as things move forward.
Cambridge Electric Car Charging Scheme
You must register to use recharging points in Cambridge. Chargemaster Plc is the operator of the Cambridge charging system. The recharging points are accessed by using an electronic tag. A high visibility charging cable can also be provided if required. To join the recharging scheme and to receive an electronic tag as well as full information about the recharging points contact Chargemaster on 0845 528 0289 or go to the website.
Cambridge City Council in conjunction with Marshall Motor Group have installed electric car recharging points in two of the city centre multi-storey car parks:
Grafton East and Queen Anne Terrace.
Recharging your car for up to three hours is free although the usual car parking fee must still be paid, in addition to your registration. The Council also ask that you please move your vehicle to a normal parking bay after the three hour recharging period.
If you have a question about the electric charging facilities in the Cambridge car parks please contact Julie Edwards on carparks@cambridge.gov.uk or telephone 01223 458515.
CABLED - Coventry And Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators Project
CABLED is a project to promote low emissions technology specifically in Coventry and Birmingham. One component of the project is a network of electric car charging points between the cities.
A number of individuals and organisations signed up to the project get access to the charging points automatically. However, members of the public can also apply for an access key to use the 36 public charging points (the locations of which are detailed on our charging points pages).
For a current application fee of £25 which covers the cost of the electronic tag key you get access to the charging points. Initially, the electricity is also provided free of charge, however this is subject to review and we would think this is likely to change although it will still be considerably cheaper than conventional fuel.
For more information see the CABLED website.
Charge Your Car Electric Car Charging Scheme
Charge your Car was launched in North East England in 2010. By 2013, the plan is that the North East region will be home to over 1,300 charging points, at key locations on streets, in car parks, at residential and commercial locations such as retail and leisure facilities.
The vision is not just for a regional scheme but a UK wide offering. It is hoped that other regions in the UK will join the scheme in 2011 and beyond creating a national network of charging points all available to existing and new Charge Your Car members.
Electric vehicle users can register to use any of the CYC charge points by becoming a Charge Your Car member. This allows you to charge your vehicle free of charge at all CYC networked charging points. Membership includes free parking whilst charging. Registration to CYC is online and users are sent a welcome pack and card to access the charging points. There is an annual membership cost.
For more information see the Charge Your Car website.
Milton Keynes Electric Car Charging Scheme
Chargemaster Plc is the operator of a Milton Keynes charging system. As with other networks, the recharging points are accessed by using an electronic tag. More information on the Chargemaster system is detailed above unde the Cambridge Electric Car Charging Scheme. To apply for a tag to access the Milton Keynes charging posts you can apply online at the Chargemaster website or telephone +44 (0) 20 7495 5270. There are currently eight charging points located in Milton Keynes city centre. Information on the locations can be found on our electric car charging points page.
Oxford Electric Car Charging Scheme
Chargemaster Plc is also the operator of the Oxford charging system. The recharging points are accessed by using an electronic tag. To apply for a tag to access the Oxford charging posts you can apply online at the Chargemaster website or telephone +44 (0) 20 7495 5270. There are currently nine charging points located in and around Oxford city centre and the bypass. Information on the locations can be found on our electric car charging points page.
Source London Electric Car Charging Scheme
Source London is a new city wide electric vehicle charging network which operates in the capital. It is just in the early stages, launched at the end of May 2011 with a plan to roll out a comprehensive network of charging points from Spring 2011 onwards. It has grown out of Mayor Boris Johnson's Electric Vehicle Delivery Plan which aims to make London the electric vehicle capital of Europe. The aspiration is to have 100,000 electric vehicles on the road as soon as possible and a network of publicly accessible charge points across London ultimately allowing every Londoner to be within one mile of an EV charge point.
Source London is being delivered by Transport for London in collaboration with various public and private sector partners. The publicly accessible charge points are and will be located at supermarkets, on the street, London Underground car parks and car parks all over London.
Similar to other schemes, the charging points are networked so that a customer registers, pays an annual fee (£100 at the moment) and receives a card in the post which unlocks any of the Source London charge points to charge the vehicle at no additional cost (although parking charges may apply).
From 2011, there will be a phased installation of 1,300 public charge points on residential streets and off-street locations, such as supermarkets, public car parks and at shopping and leisure centres (as of May 2011 there were around 150). The vision is for one access card which can be used across the whole city. In some case Source London are taking over existing charging points which have been run by individual London Boroughs or private organisations. However, currently there are still a significant number of charging points outwith this network that you may have to register for with each borough.
We are in the process of adding these charging points details as and when they become available.