Charging Points: Motorway Service Areas
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help promote private funding for new EV charging infrastructure at motorway service areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood
Access to a comprehensive charging network will enable more consumers to confidently purchase electric vehicles. Government is committed to supporting industry deliver a visible, reliable charging infrastructure on the Strategic Road Network, ahead of need, and support industry's own investment in transport decarbonisation.
There has been great progress on the rollout of chargepoint infrastructure on our Strategic Road Network. Rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoint numbers at motorway service areas have increased by around 125% over the last 18 months (based on industry data). Within one mile of the Strategic Road Network, there are over 5,250 open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers - an increase of around 100% in the last 18 months (based on data from Zapmap).
Industry has already committed over £6bn investment to support the rollout of public chargepoints across the UK, and government is working closely with industry to target government support where it is needed, including gaps in provision on the Strategic Road Network due to barriers such as high connection costs.
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