The Scottish government has published its Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network.
The publication comes as a new study shows that uptake of electric vehicles in Scotland could be up to 16% higher than UK government statistics suggest.
It sets out what an ideal public charging offer for cars and vans in Scotland should look like, according to Transport Scotland, and is intended to help guide public, private and third sector partners who will be central to developing Scotland’s future public charging network. Over the coming year Transport Scotland said it aims to develop and consult on an implementation plan that sets out how we will take forward the actions and ambition of the document.
Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop said:
To meet our ambitious climate targets, we need to decarbonise cars as fast as possible while at the same time encouraging a shift away from private car use and towards sustainable travel. This action is central to our public electric vehicle charging Vision and is coupled with record investment in active travel, alongside wider support for public transport to take urgent action in reducing transport emissions as quickly as possible.
Transport Scotland noted that the public charging network comprises almost 4,000 public charge points and provides the greatest coverage of charge points per head of population than any other region of the UK outside of London. It said:
Over the coming years the network will need to continue to scale-up and grow at pace to meet the needs of a mass electric car and van fleet. It will be important that the right type of charging infrastructure is available in the right number and at the right locations across all areas of Scotland where it is required – making charging as convenient and reliable as possible to meet the needs of local communities, businesses and visitors.
The document is structured around five themes:
- Comprehensive and convenient – so that the network is ‘well-designed and reliable’ with charge points located where people need them across Scotland;
- Meeting the needs of users – where using charge points is ‘simple, safe and affordable and works for everyone regardless of their age, health, income or other needs;’
- Grown with private investment – to help the network develop at scale and pace across all of Scotland, leveraging the skills, expertise and resources of a growing number of charge point network providers;
- Clean, green energy – where Scotland’s electric vehicles are ‘fuelled’ from Scotland’s abundant renewable energy potential and where charge points are integrated into a flexible, modern energy system;
- Wider sustainable transport system – where locations of charge points shorten car journeys and reduce dependency of privately owned vehicles by providing people with opportunities to travel using car clubs, or public transport – as well as enabling journeys by walking, wheeling and cycling.
Fiona Hyslop added:
Supporting the uptake of electric vehicles is a critical strand of our approach to meeting our climate goals and achieving a just transition to net zero. The Vision sets the standard of how Scotland’s public charging network needs to grow to support the rapidly expanding market of electric vehicles, and to support the needs of our communities, businesses and visitors alike.
She noted that the Scottish government has given over £65 million to in the ChargePlace Scotland network to support development of a comprehensive charging network covering all of Scotland and hailed the ‘clear opportunities for the private sector to support the operation of existing ChargePlace Scotland charge points under new arrangements’.
