Making public sector charging facilities available to all fleets could spur electrification and help plug gaps in the national infrastructure.

Some central and local government fleets have made heavy investments in charging infrastructure

The idea, mooted by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) – an event partner for next month’s Great British Fleet Event – would help alleviate charger difficulties for private firms by drawing on the heavy investments being made by some central and local government fleets.

AFP chair Paul Hollick explained: “Our members are facing a range of charging issues, from identifying places where they can charge electric vans overnight, through to finding facilities in more remote areas where there is little or nothing in the way of public charging provision.

“There are certainly instances where we know that there are public sector chargers that could help to mitigate this problem and opening them up to wider usage could be a solution at a point in time when the UK’s charging structure is still very much a work-in-progress.”

While several challenges would need to be addressed – including creating booking and payment mechanisms – the AFP said it would potentially be an easy win for the Government in terms of encouraging electrification.

“The public sector fleets involved would need some form of priority in having access to the chargers, of course, but that is something that doesn’t seem to be insurmountable. It would just be a question of whether there is sufficient will to make it happen.

“It would certainly make sense if a private company was working in a remote area where there were few public chargers, but there were facilities at the local council or railway station.”

Public sector fleets could also benefit under the proposals by gaining additional revenue “at a point in time when many public sector bodies are suffering from financial cuts by getting the most out of their existing assets”.

It’s an idea that the AFP is looking to progress its end, initially by gauging interest from members and  if there was sufficient support, attempt to open a dialogue with relevant bodies.

“We recently created a new Shared Charging Committee that is looking at the viability of fleets creating reciprocal charging arrangements. This new idea would fit in very well with that overall approach.”