Edinburgh, Scotland has received a £2.2m (~US$2.9m) award through Transport Scotland’s Switched on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund to install on-street electric vehicle charging.
“I’m pleased to see the Scottish Government investment of £2.2m deliver new electric vehicle charging infrastructure across Edinburgh,” said Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth. “Our Switched on Towns and Cities funding is transforming Edinburgh’s provision of charge points, not only at key park-and-ride sites, but also through 72 new on-street charging bays at various locations across the city. This will improve air quality and protect our climate – directly supporting our commitment to phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.”
Currently, use of the chargers is free, but there will be a cost beginning in May of this year. Generated revenue will be used to fund the ongoing costs associated with the electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Two Energy Savings Trust studies were conducted to develop a scoring framework for choosing locations of the chargers. With this framework, the city council has already identified several potential new locations.
Neil Swanson, director of Electric Vehicle Association Scotland, said: “What we are experiencing today is a seismic change towards low emission transportation. As Scotland forges ahead with ever increasing numbers of electric vehicle sales month-on-month, it is important that the country’s public charging infrastructure simultaneously meets the rising demand for a range of suitably located charge points. As the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have already indicated in their recently announced commitment to meeting these challenges, there is an urgent need to keep pace with the rapid uptake by those who see the financial as well as the environmental benefits of going all-electric.”