An electric car being plugged in (John Walton/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)People across London are increasingly thinking about when they should make the switch to an electric vehicle, if they haven’t already. Given the significantly lower running costs and the need to improve air quality, it is now accepted that the future of our roads is electric.
But there’s also one challenge I consistently hear when speaking to some of the five thousand Uber drivers who have already switched to electric: the problem of finding reliable charging points close to where they live.
Last year the number of EVs on UK roads hit 400,000, with more vehicles registered in 2021 than the previous five years combined. London and the South-East are leading the charge, accounting for 20% of all EV sales. This progress is very promising, but it will only continue if the rollout of charging points can keep up.
Many people living in London do not have the luxury of a driveway. Whether they live in a flat or a terraced house on a narrow street, they don’t have the option to charge their vehicle at home. It is therefore essential to improve access to reliable on-street charging points in areas where they are most needed.
Currently, the boroughs with the highest number of on-street chargers are those where drivers initially switched to EVs. These were often affluent drivers living in central and west London, which explains why over a quarter of all London’s chargers are in Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith and Fulham.
TfL’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy identifies several boroughs where there is a pressing need to build more charging points to enable all drivers to make the switch to electric.
Today, Uber has announced a £5 million investment to build over 700 chargers across three of those boroughs: Brent, Newham, and Redbridge. This initiative will boost London’s charging stock by more than 7%. We will build chargers close to where many Uber drivers live to encourage them to switch to an EV, although they will be available to everyone in the community to use.
This investment will not solve the challenge of charging in London, but it does suggest how private companies can work with the public sector to drive EV adoption. By identifying parts of London where demand for chargers is greatest, partnerships like this can bring significant benefits for drivers and local residents.
Private-hire drivers travel eight times further per year than privately-owned vehicles and given EVs lower running costs have been the early mass adopters of EVs. Installing chargers near to where high mileage drivers live is the best way to accelerate EV adoption and to generate an outsized environmental impact.
Targeting high mileage drivers will also increase the speed and scale of EV charger rollout across the capital. Put simply, if we make it easy for high-mileage drivers to switch to an EV, we will be building the infrastructure that allows everyone else to follow.
The scale of the climate challenge demands that governments, cities and the private sector act with urgency and decisiveness. Uber will play its part in delivering the Mayor’s ambitious plan for a net-zero London by supporting all Uber drivers to switch to an EV by 2025. If we can work together to improve access to EV charging for all, London’s electric future is in sight.
