Critics might say these same challenges have been evident for years, but Read balks at the suggestion that market competition won’t enable faster progress in charging station accessibility as CPOs focus more intensely on conquering market share or returns for investors. She also said now is not the time to regulate accessibility standards.

“We are under enormous pressure from government, the automotive sector and drivers to put the infrastructure in place. So we have to do it, and we also have to make sure we don’t leave anyone behind; the two things need to work in parallel,” she said. “This project is also funded by private sector investment, so it must be commercially viable.”

Read also rejected the proposition that PAS 1899 was a failure. “Publishing the standard two years ago was an important step because before that, nothing was clarified about what was required. I think the level of awareness within the electric vehicle industry, from CPOs, investors and people we work with, has exploded. So there is no doubt that it has had an impact,” she said.

The challenge now is figuring out what’s possible, Read said. “All of these challenges that we have identified do not mean that we are saying no, but rather that we cannot do things as they are currently described. So can we find an alternative way of doing things that still meets the needs?

Our campaign

Auto Express has launched its ‘Equal Access for All’ campaign on charging infrastructure, after being invited to attend an audit by the charity Disabled Motoring UK of Brighton and Hove City Council’s public charging points in October 2021.

Even then, the accessibility challenges faced by drivers using public charging stations, as well as those faced by charging station providers, were well understood. Our campaign included the first independent public test of the draft proposals on PAS 1899, which exposed its ineffectiveness and helped rethink the standard to make it more robust. We will continue to support calls for accessible charging until the problem is resolved.

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