EV Drivers to expect an easier ride when travelling long distance

24th November 2024 was the date I was waiting for.

Until recently, my experiences utilising the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK has been unpredictable, often incredibly frustrating and at times, stressful.

However, overnight, things have improved. Regulations have come in to ensure charging services in the UK will now be more reliable and user friendly.

Public rapid and ultra rapid chargers (>50kW) will need to be working 99% of the time in addition to providing contactless payments and have 24/7 helplines. There will also be more transparency.  The cost of charging must very clearly be displayed and charging companies (charge point operators) will be required to share their data with regulators. Financial penalties will be issued for non adherence.        

According to ChargeUK, there are now over 71,000 public charge points in the UK and a new charge point is being installed every 25 minutes.

Going forward, I hope there will be more focus on the importance and need for more driver education. Customers need to be able to easily find and understand which chargers they are best to use (and why) in my opinion now the infrastructure has become more reliable. Learning to drive an electric car should be a fun experience and certainly not feel exhaustive or overwhelming.

The expectation a new EV driver absorbs all the information during the relatively short handover by a salesperson or even delivery driver, is likely to be ambitious in my opinion. To achieve the goal of new information entering into our relatively short duration working memory to be embedded into our permanent, longer term memory might be challenging (especially without frequent rehearsal if not utilising the charging network regularly). And for me it has definitely required a change of mindset to adapt when driving longer distance.

Once perfected though, I believe there are and will be many more benefits for those driving an EV.

But I think it is important to acknowledge the progress that is being made.

It appears this Government is going to standby the Zero emission vehicle mandate which sets out the percentage of new zero emission cars and vans manufacturers required to be produced each year up to 2030. Car manufacturers who fail to hit their target will either have to trade certificates with other manufacturers that have exceeded their targets or be fined ￡15k per car.

With the inevitable future of there being many more electric car sales expected to hit the roads, I certainly have visions of what I would like to see going forward. Things are moving though!