Everyone benefits from accessible EV charging

Improving the accessibility of electric vehicle charging infrastructure is essential, not only to enable all drivers to access electric mobility, but for all EV drivers, as "anything that makes usability better benefits more than disabled people alone".

In recent years, there has been increasing research into the needs of disabled drivers and the barriers they face when using public EV charging infrastructure. The purpose of this post is to share some of this work (which is by no means exhaustive) as a reference, and to highlight two opportunities to get actively involved in shaping further guidance if this is of interest to you.

United Kingdom: from research to recommendations and a standard for barrier-free charging systems

The Energy Saving Trust has looked at barriers and solutions for disabled customers in accessing and using electric vehicles (from buying or leasing a vehicle, to using the charging infrastructure and associated parking and services). Their EV Accessibility page includes several reports, a webinar recording, and references to related standards and other documents. A recommended starting point, especially for those working with local authorities on EV charging infrastructure.

UK Power Networks and Motability Foundation 's ENABLE project looked at the needs of disabled customers for on-street charging infrastructure. The final report includes examples and recommendations for local authorities and network operators to improve accessibility by putting it at the heart of all transport electrification work.

Another UK project outcome, the EQUAL EV Phase 2 report by Energy Systems Catapult and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks , looks at the user journey to electric vehicles and the role of charging infrastructure and services in improving accessibility, not only for people with mobility impairments but also for those with high levels of anxiety. Opportunities include exploring V2H (vehicle-to-home) backup power from EVs and providing accessible alternative charging options during power outages.

These projects, and the work of others, resulted last year in a UK standard for accessible EV charging infrastructure (PAS 1899:2022). Designability 's design prototypes are a good way to understand what this standard - and the accessibility of charging points - covers, including design guidance to work with if you're developing charging hardware or planning a charging site.

Having a standard is one thing, making sure the charging infrastructure on the ground supports it is another. EV trade association Recharge UK is now calling for accessible EV charging infrastructure to be made mandatory, which would help drive uptake of the standard.

European Union efforts

Within the European Union, the European Accessibility Act, a directive that should've be implemented into national laws by 2022, covers many aspects of accessibility, including transport and mobility. As an example of how this is leading to EV charging guidance at national level, new motorway charging points in France include one or more wider bays for disabled customers. Unfortunately, in practice this is often combined with meeting the requirement to support legacy charging plugs and speeds, making it a sort of catch-all for deviations from the standard, rather than making the standard accessible.

In parallel to the European charging regulation Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, the European Commission is also focusing on accessible charging infrastructure. A sub-group of the Sustainable Transport Forum, the Commission's e-mobility expert group, is working to coordinate and drive forward European efforts (If you want to know more on this do contact Pedro Gomes from POLIS network ).

Accessible EV charging infrastructure state of the art

A good overview of these efforts - as well as national examples - was presented in a USER-CHI Project webinar earlier this summer: https://www.userchi.eu/news/user-chi-webinar-accessibility-of-charging-infrastructure/

?

One of the examples presented in the session is from Germany. The German Guidelines for Easy EV Charging without Barriers developed by Nationale Leitstelle Ladeinfrastruktur with SOZIALHELDEN e.V. provide guidance to operators and local authorities on how to improve the charging experience.

DIN working group starts now

This project is now going one step further with standardisation. A DIN working group is starting and looking for feedback and participation (until 25 September 2023).

2024 update: there's now a concept version of the DIN specification open for consultation:

Irish Universal Design Guidelines Consultation

The Irish government is also still accepting responses to its Universal Design Guidelines for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. This comprehensive document also refers to other guidelines and standards from other countries, such as the United States, Sweden, Switzerland and Australia, for those who wish to read more or find guidance for their region.

It's great to see these efforts reflected in standards and guidelines, and it will be even greater to see the changes on the road. So if you're a charging point operator, a local authority, working on EV services or charging hardware, take these guidelines and standards into account in your work. Even - or especially - if they're not yet mandatory in your country. Whether you are a regular, occasional and/or future user of electric transport, making charging infrastructure and services accessible to all will benefit us all.