Two London boroughs will pilot new charge points specifically designed for disabled residents, which will be funded by the East London Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) scheme and the Believ charge point network.
To support disabled people who may find that impractical or inaccessible charging bays are a barrier to EV adoption, Waltham Forest Council (and one other East London council) will deploy 120 22kW charge point sockets for public use.
The new charging bays have been designed through a collaborative workshop involving multiple stakeholders, including representatives from Motability Operations, the company who deliver the Motability Scheme to over 750,000 disabled people across the UK, and a number of other public and private sector organisations.
These organisations have all worked together to design best practice charging bays with improved accessibility. The new charging bays will include wider hatched areas between the charging bays and dropped kerbs to ensure a step-free route to a charge point from a vehicle.
To support site selection for the charge points, anonymised data from customers on the Motability Scheme, supplied through the Cenex’s National EV Insight and support (NEVIS) service, has helped provide input into where the charge points are proposed to be installed.
“Charge point infrastructure must be inclusive, and through collaborations like this we can prove that we can create a bespoke network that ensures that no one is left behind,” said Guy Bartlett, CEO, Believ.
“We’re incredibly proud to be a part of this project, particularly to support residents with disabilities who have felt the industry has been too slow in addressing their needs. This is a perfect example of how the private and public sector can partner to deliver innovative solutions for those who need it most.”
Believ share a live data partnership with Zapmap, this means that users of the Zapmap app and web map can access the live status and availability of any Believ charge point at any time - making planning for charging even easier.
