Dundee City Council is seeing successful results from the installation of eVolt UK rapid charging units intended to promote electric taxi use.

The rapid charging units are helping Dundee City Council to promote electric taxi use

The four Raption 50kW rapid chargers and three 22kW eVolve chargers have gone live at the new hub at Aimer Square. The rapid chargers are capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously at full power in approximately 30 minutes.

Fraser Crichton, transport officer at Dundee City Council, said early usage of the units had been high: “The rapid chargers have been in use at Aimer Square since the beginning of April and have already been used over 700 times in the 10 days since opening, including over 100 different users. There are currently 94 pure electric taxis in use in Dundee and we hope to see more drivers make the transition.”

Two more rapid chargers will be installed at Aimer Square later this year, followed by the installation of two further hubs – at Queen Street car park and Prince’s Street – under the Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ (OLEV) Go Ultra Low programme.

Poppy Welch, head of the joint industry and government Go Ultra Low campaign, said: “The installation of Dundee’s new rapid charger hub is part of the Council’s ongoing work towards enabling more residents, commuters and taxi drivers to choose electric. Dundee is one of the leading cities in the UK in the transition to electric vehicles, particularly in its taxi fleet. In addition to improving local air quality in the city, drivers who switch to electric are also able to save thousands of pounds each year on fuel, tax and other running costs.”