Three Staffordshire councils have come together to install electric vehicle charging facilities within local authority car parks, helping local taxis and private hire vehicles to go electric.  

The charge points are being supplied, installed and operated by Swarco under its new Smart Charging banner

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Stafford Borough Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council are to install 30 50kW rapid chargers across 15 car parks, after jointly securing funding of more than £750,000 from the Government’s Low Emission Taxi Infrastructure Scheme. 

The first sites have already gone live on a 24/7 basis and the remaining charge points will come into operation over the course of the next few months, all supplied, installed and operated by Swarco under its new Smart Charging banner.  

The charge points are equipped for contactless payment and while some of them will be open for public use, at least half will be reserved for taxis and private hire vehicles who will also benefit from reduced tariffs – down from the standard public rate of £0.49p/kWh to £0.45p/kWh.   

Justin Meyer, managing director of Swarco Smart Charging, said he was confident that this network will encourage more taxi and private hire firms to seriously consider switching to EVs.   

“This is a well-thought-out plan to provide a network of charge points that connects different locations to support drivers on their regular routes and fares,” he elaborated. “We are encouraged by the response of local taxi and private hire operators that can see the impact a dedicated accessible charging infrastructure will have on supporting their future plans.”