Addison Lee calls for urgent investment into London EV charging network

Addison Lee has called for urgent investment in London’s EV charging network, after it found “insufficiencies” with the capitals charging infrastructure.

According to a survey conducted among the first drivers of the Addison Lee EVs, 93% have not found rapid charging through the public network to be an easy process. Drivers revealed that rapid chargers are often found to be broken or damaged (57%), while over a third (37%) agreed that it can tend to take them over 30 minutes to locate a rapid charger.

The research comes after the taxi firm introduced a number of Volkswagen ID.4s to its fleet in November, the first part of a move to becoming fully-electric by 2023.

In order to address issues of “insufficiency, inefficiency, and inconsistency” in the public charging network, Addison Lee has called for the public and private sector to focus on three key areas.

Firstly, it wants to see a swift ramping up of the number of rapid public charging points in London to 8,500, so electric fleets can operate effectively and without interruption.

Secondly, to remove inefficiency from the network by ensuring all charging points are utilised to full capacity. In particular, where dedicated and single manufacturer chargers exist TfL, and private operators could release data and information to allow other vehicles to access them when they are not in use.

As well as this, it wants to tackle inconsistencies in infrastructure provision across London by ensuring that there are enough charging points in every London borough.

To play its part in addressing these challenges, Addison Lee will share data and learnings from its own EV rollout across the capital, including insight into the specific infrastructure challenges it faces. In providing this information, the firm hopes to help transport planners build a charging infrastructure that is fit for the future and can support electrification across the private hire and taxi industry, and beyond.

Addison Lee’s CEO, Liam Griffin, commented: “COP26 was a clear reminder of the responsibility every business has to reduce its carbon output and tackle the climate crisis. By pledging to electrify by 2023 we are playing our part in reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality in the capital. But our commitment is not enough. To meet London’s 2030 net zero carbon target, every fleet operating in London needs to transition to electric as quickly as possible.

“To achieve this requires urgent investment in London’s public charging network. Our experience of our EV rollout so far has highlighted the huge infrastructure challenge we face as a city. Unless we can work together to fix this, we will never reduce carbon emissions to an acceptable level in the capital. Addison Lee is ready to come to the table and share its own data and learnings to help overcome barriers to electrification for all business fleets in London.”