UK on-street residential charging needs an urgent boost to plug ‘huge blackholes’ in infrastructure to avoid leaving EV drivers stranded.

The AA has warned that there are huge swathes of the country without any on-street charging

Latest EV charging device grant scheme figures from the Department for Transport reveal that just 107 local authorities across the UK have successfully applied for On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), with just 2,869 currently installed. Funding for a further 9,543 has been approved and will be delivered in the coming years.

The AA has warned it means there are major gaps across the country where drivers without dedicated off-street residential parking would be reliant on the public charging network or workplace charging should their employer have it.

And it’s calling for vital work to help the 40% of households without a driveway, parking space or garage take part in the transition to electric cars.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “Drivers without dedicated off-street parking looking to switch to electric cars want to have the option for cheaper, affordable charging close to home rather than be reliant on the rapid network.

“The transition to electric needs to convince people that they can easily find a charge, but we need a mix of charging speeds to make life simple for everyone. But there are huge swathes of the country without any on-street charging and that needs to be rectified urgently.”

It also pointed to the publication earlier this year of the long-awaited Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, pledging to increase the UK’s EV charge points 10-fold and revealing that a minimum of 125,000 on-street charge points are needed. The Government also warned that the current progression in this area was too slow.

“Very little has changed in order to meet this target,” added Cousens.

“So much focus has been placed on the rapid and ultra-rapid network, but many will be crying out for action closer to home. We are also concerned that rural areas could be left miles behind as on-street charging is often considered to be just an urban problem.”

A report published last month revealed concerns for on-street charging due to holes in council EV approaches. Net zero data consultancy Field Dynamics said total charger coverage for UK ‘on-street’ households has increased significantly in the last two years, but growth has not been consistent across the UK and it too has concerns about charging inequality.

Latest data provided by Zap-Map shows that total charger coverage, the percentage of all on-street households that are within five minutes’ walk of a public charger, has increased by 42%, from 12% to 17%.

But coverage is still inconsistent, with London Boroughs achieving an average of nearly 60% coverage while Metropolitan councils average less than 14%.

Increases in coverage are very inconsistent too, with limited evidence of any contributing trends.

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is also campaiging to address the on-street charging challenge. It’s published a charging map that shows the local authorities most in need of kerbside charge points, in order to help support company electric van take-up.