New charge point regulations will be a game-changer for professional drivers

By Patrick Reich, chief executive of Bonnet

As you read this, wildfires are raging across southern Europe and North Africa. Sea surface temperatures across the globe have spiked, and the Met Office has predicted 40-degree summers will become commonplace in the UK going forward. 

The effects of climate change are not an abstraction – we’re seeing them, worldwide, becoming starker each year.  

One of the biggest sources of CO2 emissions is transport; petrol- and diesel-driven cars, trucks, and heavy goods vehicles.

Fortunately, the immense advances we’ve seen in electric vehicle (EV) technology over the past decade has given us a chance to drastically decrease this source of emissions. 

However, at present, there continue to be barriers to the large-scale switch to EVs our planet needs.

Provision of charging points across the UK is patchy and inconsistent, with significant variation in the quality and accessibility of chargers, and many out-of-commission or poorly maintained.  

As such, the Government’s latest draft regulations for public charge points are more than welcome.

Our own data has shown that one of the most consistent annoyances for EV drivers is arriving to a charge point to find that it’s faulty; requiring CPOs to ensure that chargers must be reliable for 99% of the time during a calendar year should create a better charging experience for EV drivers.

Similarly, customer helplines will help operators respond to faulty chargers, as well as let drivers know that they are helping to improve the network.

More promising still are the proposed requirements on open data, including the provision to make pricing, availability, and condition data publicly-available and accessible free-of-charge to third party applications.  

We’ve seen in recent years a number of positive steps from the Government, particularly in plans to improve the UK’s use of data and set it on the right path as a scientific and technical powerhouse.

Mandating open data and EV roaming will both encourage CPOs to step up their game, and provide UK planners, policymakers, and charge point operators with a wealth of valuable information. 

So far, CPOs have been installing charge points where they can – where there is space, where they anticipate there’ll be more EV drivers, and where they have permission.

A dataset of this magnitude can allow the Government and business to work hand-in-hand, identifying and installing charge points where they are most needed, as well as anticipating future need.  

It is not an exaggeration to say these regulations could be a game-changer for the EV industry.

Alongside the Government’s planned phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, the UK could be on the cusp of setting up a model which will be the blueprint for the world; open data, an end to walled gardens, and guarantees of reliability.

Drivers who make the switch to electric vehicles should find the change beneficial in every sense. 

This is especially important for industry and professional drivers – taxi drivers, chartered transport, delivery and fleet operators.

By number of vehicles bought and emissions saved, these groups are currently the spearhead of the switch, and should be rewarded with a high-quality charging network. 

There are those who believe that aiming for sustainability and growing our economy are at cross-purposes – a refrain we’ve all seen expressed with greater volume and frequency in recent weeks.

My firm belief is that economic growth and reducing emissions work in tandem. Across industries, we’ve seen companies confirm this, investing in a green future. And it’s fantastic that the Government is catching up.