Over the next two years, Oxfordshire residents will benefit from the largest installation of public electric vehicle (EV) charging points ever seen in the county following the award of two charge point operator (CPO) contracts.
Connected Kerb and Bicester-based EZ-Charge have been chosen to provide more than 1,500 public EV chargers, doubling the number currently available.
Connected Kerb has been selected to install and operate on-street EV chargers on the highway, as well as Oxfordshire County Council-run park and ride sites and other car parks. EZ-Charge has been chosen to install and operate EV charging hubs in district and city council car parks in Oxfordshire.
These two companies will work together with Oxfordshire’s councils to create a reliable, easy-to-use, contactless EV charging network spanning the county. This will give more people the opportunity to switch to an EV – regardless of where they live or their parking situation – to improve Oxfordshire's environment and air quality.
Public EV charger deployment will be prioritised in areas where a high proportion of residents lack off-street parking. Site feasibility will be one of the first priorities of the new CPOs, and so announcements about locations will not be made until later.
Oxfordshire County Council is also set to launch a community 'microhub' scheme by inviting town and parish councils and other non-profit-making community organisations to host public EV chargers in car parks at community hubs such as village halls, community centres and sports pavilions. Six pilot sites have been chosen to have EV chargers installed later this year ahead of the scheme opening for formal applications.
Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said:
“This programme will provide a huge confidence boost to drivers looking to switch to EVs and build on our leadership in this field.
“One of our top aims is to get reliable, accessible public EV charging into rural and deprived areas. This will help ensure that nobody will be left behind in the transition to driving electric.”
Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, said:
“We are thrilled to have won the Oxfordshire contract and look forward to bringing our tried and tested EV charging solutions and innovative smart charging tariffs to the area.
“As one of the UK’s largest and most experienced CPOs, we look forward to meeting the growing EV charging needs of Oxfordshire’s residents, visitors and commuters and providing the highest standards in EV charging and customer service.”
Phil Shadbolt OBE, CEO of EZ-Charge, said:
“It’s really exciting to be working with Oxfordshire councils again to install and operate EV charging hubs in district council car parks. Our experience from Park and Charge Oxfordshire has shown that providing high quality charging facilities in residential areas can give people without driveways the confidence to make the switch to EV.
“As a local company, we are particularly proud to be able to provide reliable and accessible EV charging to local residents where they really need it most.”
Funding comes from a combination of Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) and other grant funding from the government and significant private investment from the two CPOs.
The focus will be on Standard 7kW chargers that residents without home chargers can charge their EVs with at discounted energy rates whilst parked overnight.
There will also be a smaller number of Rapid 50kw+ chargers installed in strategic locations and the whole network will provide much needed top-up charging for residents, visitors, commuters and working drivers during the daytime.
Both networks can be accessed directly in the Zapmap app, where users can find EV chargers and pay for their charging sessions, either directly in the app or with the tap of the Zapmap charging card.
