Sadiq Khan says London has hit “milestone” of 100 rapid charging points for electric vehicles across city
London's mayor Sadiq Khan has today unveiled 100 rapid charging points for electric vehicles, as the capital moves closer to its target of becoming a zero-emissions city.
Approximately 2,000 standard charge points are already installed across London, but the new launch will see taxis have access to 51 new rapid charging points across the city. The average time it takes to charge a vehicle now stands at 20 to 30 minutes compared with the seven or eight hours it takes at regular charging points.
At a demonstration in Southwark this morning, Khan said: “The roll-out of rapid charging points marks a big step forward in the shift to zero-emission vehicles, which the capital desperately needs to clean up our toxic air. But widespread change will not happen until a sufficient charging infrastructure is in place, allowing taxi drivers, businesses and Londoners to easily make the switch."
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“On my watch, TfL has already installed 100 new rapid charge points – despite only five per cent of the city’s roads being under my control," he said. "However, we will only reach the numbers we need if the boroughs install these points on the 95 per cent of the network in their control and TfL stands ready to help."
Khan's programme was initially designed to time with changes from 1 January 2018 to reduce emissions from the taxi fleet by phasing out diesel vehicles and increasing the number of zero emissions capable taxis in London, which the mayor said should help tackle air pollution problems in the capital.
However, the mayor missed his original target of 75 points by the end of 2018, provoking criticism from Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, who said Khan's plans to reach 300 rapid charging points by 2020 were "far too timid".
Today, Conservative London Assembly member Shaun Bailey said the charging points were welcome but that "far more were needed".
“Every new rapid electric charging point is welcome but far more than 100 are needed if we want to truly encourage the switch to zero-emission vehicles," he said.
A survey of London boroughs released today reveals that they are set to deliver over 2,600 charging points across the capital in the next financial year, while the mayor pledged at least 150 TfL-funded rapid charge points by the end of 2018.
According to data from London Councils, London boroughs have installed 644 charging points since January 2017, with at least another 2,630 charging points planned by 2018/19.
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