5.1. Approaches to educating and informing the public

Community newsletters and local newspapers are a useful means of informing the public about proposed chargepoint developments and providing them with progress updates on projects that are underway. Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust used this approach to good effect to update their community on their low carbon travel and transport challenge fund (LCTT) active travel paths project discussed previously. Using newsletters and newspapers to inform the public about proposed infrastructure developments is also a key way of encouraging people to engage with the project.
Once new public chargepoint developments have been completed, you can also use newsletters and newspapers to make people aware of this new infrastructure, including where it is, the type of chargers available and how much it costs to use. Western Isles Council, for example, have used the local newspaper to make the public aware of new chargepoint projects on the islands. Dundee City Council have also used this approach to highlight when they install new public charging infrastructure in the city.

These are effectively an online version of the traditional physical community noticeboard. Key benefits of using an online platform are that it is quick, easy and inexpensive to create and distribute messaging. This medium can have a wide and immediate reach amongst those within the community who generally access their information online.
The electric vehicle association (EVA) Scotland is the primary body representing electric vehicle owners in Scotland. The organisation’s website hosts a range of forums including regional ones designed to support users at a local level.

In a similar way to community newsletters, community noticeboards are a traditional tool for informing the community about proposed developments in an area. These noticeboards are generally located outside shops or in the middle of towns. This can be a useful way of keeping informed older residents who prefer to access information in a physical form rather than online. Community noticeboards are also a useful tool for encouraging community engagement with projects.

Going door-to-door to discuss your project with members of the community can be a very effective means of spreading awareness. Stirling Council’s switched on towns and cities project provides an example of how well this approach can work. The council opted to use a door-to-door ‘show and tell’ approach to show residents examples of the physical charging equipment they were planning to install in the area. This helped to dismiss community misconceptions regarding the size of the infrastructure. It also allowed them to clearly show residents how the chargepoints would fit within the streetscape. This form of community education is however, more resource intensive.

In-person demonstration events, such as roadshows, can give the public practical, hands-on experience of electric vehicle and charging technology. Attending such events can help people to overcome perception barriers regarding this technology, by allowing them to see and familiarise themselves with the technology and how it works. The events also provide the public with opportunities to speak with experts who can answer any questions or concerns they may have.

The section ‘EV events – Case Study: local government support programme’ highlights the benefits hosting these can bring.

Presenting your project plan at community meetings is another good way of introducing and explaining it to those for whom it will be most relevant. You can also do this after the infrastructure is installed, to make people aware that it is operational and encourage them to use it.

As education institutions, schools and colleges are a naturally useful avenue for informing young drivers, or soon-to-be-drivers, about proposed public charging infrastructure developments. These young people are an additional user group that could be encouraged to take advantage of the infrastructure in future, and help to make their parents aware of it now.

Local car dealerships are another medium that naturally lends itself to sharing information and engaging with the general public on new public charging infrastructure projects. People who are planning to buy an electric vehicle will likely be interested in proposed public charging infrastructure projects in their area. Local car dealerships may be willing to be recruited to promote your project, if they can be shown that doing so is also in their interest. You can encourage them to share information on public charge point developments with customers, by pointing out how increasing numbers of their sales will be electric vehicles in future.

Arnold Clark’s innovation centre in Glasgow is a best case example of what this might look like. The centre is an educational space, situated next to an Arnold Clark dealership, offering advice to the public on both EVs and charging. Energy Saving Trust has supported the centre’s role providing guidance for consumers.

There is now a wealth of good quality information on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure available online. As part of the educating and informing process, you should therefore signpost the public to official and trustworthy online information sources. The Energy Saving Trust website, for example, contains a wide range of independent guidance designed to support both domestic consumers and businesses in making the switch to electric vehicles.