29.8.2012 Scotland joins UK EV charging network

Transport Scotland, the national transport agency for Scotland, has announced that all 500 of its existing free-to-use electric vehicle (EV) charge points are to be added to the Charge Your Car network in the north east of England.

In addition, a further 250 charge points will be installed across Scotland and connected to Charge Your Car by March 2013, more than doubling the size of the Charge Your Car network.

Transport Scotland purchased the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) compliant charge points from manufacturers APT, Charging Solutions, Elektromotive, POD Point and Siemens, and is connecting them to Charge Your Car’s OCPP charge point management system.

Charge Your Car is the UK's first national open access network. Launched in 2010 as the North East Plugged in Places scheme, it was the first network to introduce DC rapid charge points and in 2011 the first to introduce pay-as-you-go recharging, using a pay-by-phone system. This customer-focused approach enables EV drivers to roam and access recharging infrastructure in the same way that they buy petrol or park their car, that is, without multiple membership cards or payment of subscriptions.

Charge Your Car works by connecting EV drivers to charge point owners, providing a high quality service to both customer groups. From April 2013 EV drivers will be able to access the Charge Your Car network via an app on their smartphone. Unlike current apps which offer limited map functionality, the Charge Your Car app will enable EV drivers to access and instigate a charge at any pay-as-you-go charge point, making recharging quick, convenient and affordable.

Charge Your Car is the first network to offer charge point owners a fully-managed service, making their charge points accessible to all electric car drivers and providing them with the ability to charge for usage and collect revenues. By joining Charge Your Car, charge point owners and regional networks will benefit from increased revenues and decreased costs, meaning that charge points can more quickly become self-funding, reducing or eliminating any reliance on public sector subsidies.

Charge points will be promoted to electric vehicle drivers across the UK via the Charge Your Car app, website and e-newsletters. Charge Your Car will collect payments from EV drivers on behalf of charge point owners, clearing funds to them on a monthly or quarterly basis. Personalised pages of the Charge Your Car website will enable charge point owners to set charge point access rights and pricing, view charge point status, and receive alerts and reports.

Mike Foster, Senior Project Manager at Transport Scotland said: "Transport Scotland is putting in place the infrastructure that will enable Scotland's motorists to purchase and operate electric vehicles. By joining the Charge Your Car network we are ensuring that EV drivers everywhere will be able to access and use our infrastructure in a way that is convenient for them."

Alexandra Prescott, Operations Manager at Charge Your Car said: "We're delighted that Transport Scotland has chosen to join the Charge Your Car network, bringing us another step closer to our goal of 10,000 public access pay-as-you-go charging points across the UK."

Newspress