Private hire giant Addison Lee has called for urgent investment in London’s public charging network after its own EV roll-out revealed major obstacles in charging access.

Since the first VW ID.4s arrived on the fleet late November, Addison Lee’s data has revealed insufficiency, inefficiency and inconsistency in the public charging network

The firm has pledged to switch its 4,000-strong fleet to fully electric vehicles by 2023 and has already deployed the first 100 EVs on London’s roads.

But initial data from its roll-out has revealed “insufficiency, inefficiency and inconsistency” in the capital’s 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%) said that it can tend to take them over 30 minutes to locate a rapid charger.

The company is now warning that these issues, unless resolved, could hamper successful industry-wide electrification in the run-up to the 2030 ICE ban.

Addison Lee is already supporting its EV drivers through home charging, partnering with JustPark and Octopus Energy to help drivers who don’t have access to on-street, viable charging.

The business has also offered to share its data and learnings from its transition to help the Government, TfL, private sector and industry tackle infrastructure challenges.

But the firm is also calling for the public and private sector to come together to urgently address these issues as it warns that the capital’s rapid charging network is “overextended” and says three critical areas need to be tackled.

These include current “insufficiency” of chargers. Previous independent research shows that if London’s private hire vehicle and taxi fleets shift to full EVs then approximately 8,500 rapid chargers are required in the capital, and Addison Lee is calling for an urgent ramp-up in charging to this number so electric fleets can operate effectively and without interruption.

“Inefficiency” in the network also needs to be tackled by ensuring all charging points are utilised to full capacity. In particular, where dedicated and single manufacturer chargers exist, it says TfL and private operators could release data and information to allow other vehicles to access them when they are not in use.

And work must also tackle “inconsistencies” in infrastructure provision across London by ensuring that there are enough charging points in every London borough.

Addison Lee’s CEO, Liam Griffin, commented: “Our experience of our EV roll-out 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.”