The public sector in Scotland has created a £65m network of nearly 2,300 electric vehicle charge points under the ChargePlace Scotland programme - but the country’s government wants more private companies to get involved in funding.
“It’s now time for the private sector to build on that legacy” said Jenny Gilruth, Scottish transport minister, speaking at the London EV Show this week.
Scotland now has the most EV charge points - by population – anywhere in the UK outside of London, but must go further in terms of recharging solutions, Gilruth said.
Partnership – and commercial investment - will be “absolutely key” in rolling this out, she continued.
While charging was originally free, tariffs are required “to cover the cost of maintaining and growing the network in future”.
Earlier this year, the Scottish government launched a public EV infrastructure fund, which is expected to provide up to £60 million to local authorities over the next four years.
Approximately half of this funding is anticipated to be invested from the private sector and has the potential to double the size of the public charging network in Scotland.
Gilruth insisted that the government’s vision goes further than merely increasing EV charging and shifting people from petrol and diesel vehicles to EVs.
“More fundamental change in travel behaviours is needed too,” she insisted. “Our mission is to decarbonise the entire transport system.”
The Scottish government already has a commitment to reduce car kilometres travelled by 20% by 2030 and has set up a Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, a joint initiative between industry and government to make green the country’s bus fleet.
Part of the Scottish National Transport Strategy, it envisages bus operators running exclusively zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses.
“The road to Net Zero is not an easy one but it’s also full of opportunities,” Gilruth concluded.
