2.11. Strategically located charging hubs – York hyperhubs case study

Overview

The City of York Council’s hyperhubs project has installed fast, rapid, and ultra-rapid charging infrastructure at two park and ride sites on the periphery of York. An image taken at the monks cross site can be seen at the top of the page.

Reasoning

The hyperhubs form part of York’s electric vehicle strategy. This is focused on providing high powered charging and reducing the number of private vehicle journeys into the city centre.

The hyperhubs have been strategically located on local authority owned land, close to the city’s ring road. They will provide a full suite of charging provision, offering multiple power ratings, and will therefore support a wide range of charging needs.

Fast chargepoints meet the needs of those travelling into York who have the option of switching from private vehicle to bus for the final part of their journey. Higher powered chargers serve the needs of those either bypassing York on the ring road, or those travelling out of the city, who need a quick top-up charge.

Ambition

York aims to grow the volume of charging infrastructure available at additional park and ride sites. By the end of 2022, York will have 15 rapid, eight ultra-rapid, and 184 fast sockets, in addition to the charging infrastructure already available from commercial providers.

Progress so far

The two sites opened in summer 2022.

Challenges faced

With a large number of high-powered chargers, a significant element of the project has been facilitating grid connections.

Key lessons learned

Locating charging infrastructure on existing retail sites helps to strengthen usage levels as people are already drawn to these locations.

Further information

More detail on the project can be found on the City of York council’s website.