More than a third (38%) of UK councils do not provide any on-street electric vehicle charging suitable for disabled drivers, risking a large section of society being left behind in the EV transition.

Freedom of Information (FOI) research by Vauxhall found 111 of the 289 councils who responded said they have no on-street charge points that have either been specifically adapted for disabled drivers, or any that follow the British Standards Institution’s PAS 1899:2022. The latter is a national accessible charging standard co-sponsored by the Motability Foundation and UK government.

The research also found little change in the number of on-street chargers adapted specifically for disabled drivers since Vauxhall’s 2024 study; the total remained static at 2.2% of all on-street chargers. That’s despite current figures from the Department for Transport showing a 27% year on year increase in the number of on-street chargers across the UK as of the end of April.

The new research is part of Vauxhall’s ongoing Electric Streets of Britain initiative, which aims to support the 40% of UK households without off-street parking.

There are over 16 million disabled people in the UK and research by the Motability Foundation predicts that 1.35 million disabled drivers will be partially or fully reliant on public charging infrastructure by 2035.

Data published in the Motability Scheme’s new EV Transition Tracker also highlights the ongoing barriers disabled people face in the transition to EVs. The research shows that 65% of scheme customers will only make the shift to an EV when they have no other choice. When asked about charging 45% of customers said it’s too difficult to find nearby public charging points.

Vauxhall, which is a leading supplier of electric vehicles to the Motability Scheme, said the limited access to public charging for the UK’s disabled motorists was concerning.

Steve Catlin, managing director at the British brand, commented: “As the number of on-street chargers continues to rise, we want to see the number of chargers which have been adapted for disabled drivers to grow alongside this – all drivers should be able to access public charging, whatever their need, to ensure going electric is a practical and viable option.”

A recent paper from the Public Accounts Committee into the UK’s EV charge point network highlighted obstructions to charge points, such as those which are positioned too close to kerbs or use heavy cables, making it hard for wheelchair users to access, while concluding that charge points being installed without considering PAS 1899:2022 risks the charging network growing without meeting the needs of disabled drivers5.

Andrew Miller, chief executive of Motability Operations, the company which runs the Motability Scheme, said: “We hear from our customers every day and many of them tell us the same thing. They’re struggling with the change, and public charging is their biggest worry. This uncertainty is stopping people from making the switch – and could lead to a cliff edge transition that leaves thousands of disabled people with no access to mobility.”

Through Electric Streets of Britain, Vauxhall is continuing to encourage drivers to register their need for on-street charging near them, and for disabled drivers to say where they require specific accessible charging.

So far, over 12,000 streets have been logged as needing on-street charging across the country through electricstreets.co.uk. The database also provides drivers with the option to register whether or not they need on-street charging with particular requirements to suit their disability.