Boost for London’s electric vehicle users

Ten on-street ‘Juice Points’ have been installed outside homes, offices and prime locations across Westminster (which covers a large part of central London), following a successful pilot scheme in Covent Garden. It takes the total number of recharging points in Westminster to 60 – 12 on-street and another 48 in 13 council-owned car parks.

Fee
Users will pay an annual £75 fee to cover administration costs to register and use the on-street recharging posts, which cost £3,300 each. They receive a recharging cable and personalized key which is inserted into the charging point to start the charging process.

EcoPark
Users also receive substantial discounts on the other 48 car park charging points in Westminster. Currently, these are only available to residents or workers in Westminster who are members of its ‘EcoPark’ scheme.

The scheme is part of Westminster Council’s strategy to improve its air quality (the worst in the UK). It falls under the council’s Go Green programme, which sets out the ways in which the council intends to lead in creating a more sustainable city.

Financial incentives
Electric cars are exempt from road tax and the London Congestion Charge, exemptions which typically save electric car drivers over £2,500 per year.

Westminster was one of the first councils in the UK to introduce a range of financial incentives for electric vehicle owners, including free parking at meters and free resident parking.

Taking the lead
Neighbouring London boroughs Camden and Islington also have recharging networks, but not as large as Westminster’s. The borough of Wandsworth is planning to launch one.

Councillor Alan Bradley of Westminster City Council, said: "We hope that by taking the lead and offering more recharging points than any other area of the UK, we can get more people to switch to electric-powered cars, saving both money and the environment. This scheme represents an important step in the development of environmentally friendly travel and an improvement to London’s transport system. We hope other councils will follow our lead, not just in London but across the country, so we can have a truly comprehensive system of recharging points across the UK.”

Funded
The ten new Juice Points have been funded by Westminster City Council, Transport for London (TfL), the Energy Saving Trust and EDF Energy.

Total number
This brings the total number of public on-street charging points in London to around 40. There are many more ‘private’ charging points which are only available to members of particular schemes (such as Westminster’s EcoMark scheme).