City’s electric vehicle infrastructure gets a boost

Drivers of plug-in vehicles will find topping up their mileage more convenient thanks to 84 more plug-in vehicle fast charging bays being installed in Leeds.

A new partnership between Leeds City Council and EB Charging will see the new fast charging bays installed at 15 locations across the city – with the first 30 bays at six locations already live.

54 bays at nine more locations are due to go live by the early summer.

Horsforth, Rothwell, and Morley are among the areas that will benefit from the infrastructure. The council has selected the locations to help improve access to local vehicle chargers for residents living in parts of the city with limited off-street parking.

The charge points will supply vehicles at a rate of up to seven kilowatts, meaning a typical electric vehicle could fully recharge in around six hours.

Official statistics show more than 39,000 plug-in vehicles now registered in Leeds and traffic data from the local authority show the share of fully electric vehicles on the city’s roads has doubled in the last year alone.

Leeds had more than 412 publicly accessible charge points as of October 2022 – more than triple the amount available a year earlier.

Leeds City Council has successfully secured grant funding and private sector partnerships to install dozens more new charging bays at car parks across the city.

This includes 72 rapid charging bays in partnership with Geniepoint and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and 24 bays – a combination of fast and rapid chargers – at Stourton Park & Ride in partnership with EB Charging.

Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for infrastructure and climate, said: “I’m pleased that the council is working with EB Charging to install another 84 charge points for plug-in vehicle drivers across the city.

‘With transport emissions making up such a significant proportion of our city’s carbon footprint, it is really encouraging to see the demand for cleaner, greener vehicles growing, having more than tripled in the last two years.

“We know access to charging, particularly for residents who don’t have off-street parking, is preventing some people from enjoying the benefits of electric vehicles.

“So I hope the installation of these new charge points will make it easier for more people to make the switch.”

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