New charging points for electric cars planned
Two new electric vehicle charge points will soon be installed in Shropshire as part of a Highways England- funded scheme to ensure that 95% of England’s motorways and A-roads are within 20 miles of a charge point.
These two new RAPID charge points, to be installed within the next few months in Shropshire Council’s Easthope car park in Church Stretton and a location yet to be confirmed in Ludlow, are a first for the council.
Simon Harris, Shropshire Council’s deputy Cabinet member for transport, said: “The aim is to have an easy access for all to charge their vehicles, helping people to make longer journeys and reduce the anxiety of potentially running out of power.
“There are around 25 charge points across the county, but these are all on private land. It’s great that there will soon be more, and at no cost to the council.”
Keen to help improve air quality, reduce carbon emissions and save on costs, the council is currently trialling a number of hybrid and fully electric vehicles within its own fleet.
Simon added: “Electric vehicles are the future and we’re busy exploring how we can embrace them in Shropshire.
“Our strategy takes into consideration the challenges we face – one being that Shropshire is a very large county which makes it difficult to get around with limited charging points, and the second being that technology is always at least one step ahead.
“To address these challenges, here at the council we’ve been trialling hybrid vehicles and fully electric vehicles which recharge themselves as they go, limiting the need for lots of expensive charging points.
“Using electric vehicles presents us with so many benefits, such as enabling us to play our part in reducing emissions and saving us money.
“Electric vehicles will become so much more accessible for everyone and, with technology progressing as it is, soon they’ll be able to be charged from anywhere.
“These are very exciting times and I’m keen that we’re not left behind.”
New research revealed by a national renewable energy supplier has found that Shrewsbury is the second least prepared city in the UK for the predicted rise in electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads.
The figures, revealed by Tonik Energy, compared the number of full driving license holders in each UK postcode area to the number of publicly available charging points according to online charging point platform Zap-Map in each location, to determine which areas of the UK were most ready for the EV revolution in the next couple of years.
