There are just under 40m cars and vans on UK roads. Of these there are 530,000 EVs and 405,000 plug-in hybrids.
Those figures and the phasing out of internal combustion engines tell us that the proportion of EVs is certain to mushroom in the coming years. This growth is likely to accelerate even faster if petrol and diesel prices remain high for a prolonged period. But there’s one factor that could get in the way – availability of convenient public charging facilities.
In town and city centres more EVs would be good news. More EVs will mean better air quality and potentially better public health. Local authorities could report faster progress towards meeting their net zero goals.
The question is: what needs to be done to encourage more people to switch?
Public EV charging solutions
If the nation wants to increase EV use even faster there’s no doubt that more convenient and widespread public charging points will help. A study carried out by Which? found that three out of four EV drivers are currently unhappy with public EV charging facilities.
One part of the potential inconvenience is the distance between charging facilities and where people live and work. If you know that there’s somewhere to charge your car just around the corner one potential barrier to making the switch has just disappeared.
‘Park and charge’ facilities with a small footprint would be a flexible and desirable option in many areas. If designed carefully they could also contribute to the growth of low traffic neighbourhoods. Cars could be diverted away from residential streets with minimal inconvenience.
Small footprint modular car parks with EV charging
Octavius has designed a unique modular parking system that is ideal for creating a one or two deck car park in a tight town or city centre location. Usually there’s no need to dig foundations or for a major construction project. The structure can be assembled within a few weeks to keep disruption to a minimum.
The system makes it easy to install EV charging points, as we’ve done on a recent project for the Institution of Engineering and Technology, as well as solar PV generation if desired. Flexible, small footprint car parks could be a self-financing opportunity to make a real difference to the rate of EV uptake.
