9.4. More accessibility resources

OZEV and Innovate UK have partnered to fund the transitioning towards zero emission vehicles (TZEV) and niche vehicle network (NVN); these programmes provide funding to projects developing innovative solutions to low carbon transport challenges. One such project designed an accessible chargepoint in a partnership between Duku, Urban Foresight and Dundee city council. Further information on this chargepoint is available on Duku’s website. You can find details of all the projects awarded this funding on its dedicated UK government webpage.

In 2021, the disability charity Motability grant funded Designability to carry out user engagement with Motability scheme customers and those close to them about the future accessibility of electric vehicle charging. The resulting research and report of the challenges faced by disabled drivers were pivotal to the development of PAS 1899:2022. You can download the full report directly from Motability’s website.

Urban Foresight’s ‘guidance on improving electric vehicle charging infrastructure’ report, delivered through partnership with Plymouth city council with Innovate UK funding. The report indicates that there are three core elements to consider when setting out to create infrastructure that is as accessible as possible; these are the physical environment, hardware and user experience. You can read more about this, including further information on their design and collaboration recommendations, by downloading an abridged version of the report, available on Urban Foresight’s website.

SSEN’s ‘equal electric vehicle phase 2: technology viability and future services for vulnerable customers’ project report, published in March 2022. This outlines and presents possible solutions to some of the issues experienced by people with mobility impairments and people with high levels of anxiety when using electric vehicles. You can download the report from SSEN’s website.

Energy Saving Trust’s report on ‘electric vehicle adoption for disabled customers’ (available for download from our website) presented the findings of a research study and engagement with stakeholder groups on the barriers and solutions to certain groups accessing charging infrastructure. The spider diagrams below highlight some of the most prevalent accessibility issues relating to the surrounding built environment and the chargepoint hardware itself.

The report concluded that actions required to improve the accessibility of the charging experience include:

• Increasing the number of all chargepoints across the UK to give more options for all consumers to use, including disabled consumers, with a specific focus on accessible charging bays
• Ensuring local authorities have disabled consumers as a focus of their infrastructure strategy planning
• Implementing the BSI accessible charging standards, consult with all stakeholders throughout the development process, and support the implementation of them
• Engaging with private landowners to ensure that accessibility considerations are taken in the private sector’s implementation of infrastructure
• Consideration of support services such as chargepoint assistants or clerks, like at petrol station forecourts, or roaming charging services
• Supporting the development and marketing of tools and services to make finding chargepoints easier, such as chargepoint booking or journey planning technologies