The City Council has announced plans to double the number of on-street electric vehicle charging points in the city and a new bus charging facility. The new points are to be installed in residential areas, with the emphasis on areas where there is limited off-road private parking.
The City Council’s climate change strategy is aiming to significantly reduce the amount of CO2 and NO2 emitted by vehicles in the city.
Many residential properties do not have private drives and therefore vehicle owners are not able to go electric. The new points are aimed at tackling that problem.
At present there are 401 charging points and the new plans, if funded, will add a further 400 to those already installed.
As we reported in March all the city’s buses will be electric by 2025 and the new plans include an electric bus charging station. The Council is also giving incentives to taxi owners to convert to electric.
The council is putting the contract a “Charge Point Operator” out to tender in preparation for a bid for additional funding from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV).
Councillor Patricia Hetherton, Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for city services, said it was exciting news and ‘two fantastic steps towards becoming an all-electric city’.
“We are making sure the city is ready to switch to electric vehicles, which are better for the environment and our health.
“The new charging points will help to ensure more local people without a private drive can charge an electric vehicle, and the new bus charging station means our public transport network can get ready to go electric, reducing emissions and future-proofing Coventry.”
The council will bid for Office for Zero Emission Vehicles funding for up to an additional 400 charge points.
The electric bus scheme will save around 24,000tonnes of carbon dioxide and 55 tonnes of nitrogen dioxide per year and the bus charging station will support the council’s green economic recovery plan through the de-carbonisation of the city’s transport network.