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Groups featuring Tanni Grey-Thompson have expressed concerns that drivers with disabilities could be left out from the shift to electric vehicles due to EV chargers that lack proper access.

Rising Numbers However Access Issues

The count of electric vehicle charging points throughout the United Kingdom has been rising fast, with some 17,400 set up in the twelve months ending in July. Nevertheless, the missing guidelines means motorists with access needs sometimes cannot be sure they will be able to use them.

Frequent barriers involve high pavements, gravelled areas, screens mounted too tall, or cables that are too heavy.

Legislative Action

Lately, the House of Lords approved a change to the government’s planning and infrastructure bill that would grant authority to mandate access requirements on public EV chargers.

Lady Grey-Thompson, who won 11 gold medals across five Paralympics, now serves as a independent member in the Lords. She often draws attention to problems with mobility-friendly travel, including a recent incident where she was forced to crawl off a train due to no available help.

"Individuals with disabilities have been completely forgotten about," she remarked. "I've tried to change to an electric vehicle more than once. It has been very challenging."

Sector and Campaigner Perspectives

Vicky Edmonds, noted, "We're currently risking millions of drivers being locked out from the EV shift. Almost 50% of EV owners are struggling with using public EV stations."

She emphasized the government to publish its revised accessibility standard and to adopt regulatory measures to enforce those requirements.

Research commissioned by the Motability Foundation reveals the Britain has as many as 1.35 million motorists with disabilities, including 390,000 probably lacking home-based EV charging.

Standards and Future Outlook

Right now, just 2.3% of charging points meet the criteria outlined by the British Standards Institution. Efforts to make its accessibility standard PAS 1899 more achievable have stalled.

Conservative peer Jamie Borwick, who proposed the change, stated that deploying inaccessible points today would create long-term issues and restrict options for accessible users when conventional fuel cars are withdrawn from sale after 2035.

"We are likely to see a significant quantity of charging points that aren't accessible," he commented. "You've got to design for accessibility from the start."

Nigel Fletcher remarked that charging standards should be be enforced. "It is essential that all providers of public EV charging assume responsibility for making sure that their facilities is inclusive."

The chief executive of ChargeUK added, "Not a single user should be left behind in the EV shift, and this covers those with disabilities."

Government Response

A transport department representative commented, "We are fully committed to ensuring disabled drivers can easily charge their electric cars, which is why we commissioned a review into inclusive design for charging stations."

"The review has now concluded, and its findings will be released soon. We are still collaborating with the sector on how we can enhance access to chargers for those with disabilities."