London to get more ultra-rapid charging hubs for electric vehicles

Evening Standard

Ross Lydall interviews Seb Dance, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, at the London EV Show at Excel to learn more about TfL's plans to build the hubs more ultra-rapid charging hubs for electric vehicles

Transcript

00:00 We're at the EV, London EV Show showcasing the next generation of electric vehicles and

00:05 today we're announcing that Places for London, which is the property arm for TFL, will be

00:10 announcing a tender for five new ultra-rapid charging hubs, which means that people will

00:19 be able to come and charge their vehicle in a very short space of time, anything from

00:23 5, 10, 15 minutes for a full charge.

00:26 And that means that we are significantly upgrading the infrastructure in the capital, where we

00:30 already have far more chargers than anywhere else in the country.

00:33 In fact, we have a third of the total number of chargers in the country, but we want to

00:37 go that step further and bring in these ultra-rapid charging hubs.

00:39 But of course, there's no trade-off between fares and having ultra-rapid charging hubs.

00:44 And really what we have to recognise is that the car is a fundamental part of our lives.

00:49 We'll always have cars and they perform a very necessary task.

00:53 So what we need to do is ensure that we clean up the air so that the cars that we do have

00:58 are not contributing to the enormous toxic air problem that we have in the city, where

01:02 some 4,000 people die prematurely every year because of the impact of emissions.

01:08 And that's why it's so exciting that we are also announcing or releasing a report that

01:12 says that the uptake of electric vehicles in London has been enormous.

01:17 So from 1.3% of all vehicles in 2018, it's now nearly a quarter of all vehicles in 2022,

01:23 some 23%.

01:25 So clearly the demand is there.

01:27 Of course, like everything, it involves a partnership between the public, private sector

01:31 and of course government as well and the energy providers.

01:34 It's always important that we work as much as we can to reduce the cost of energy.

01:39 And that of course requires cooperation as well with central government and the providers

01:43 as well.

01:44 So that's part of the tendering process, of course, that Places for London is announcing.

01:49 And the winner of course will be the one that provides the best facilities and of course

01:53 best value for people.

01:54 Of course, there will always be some income in order to maintain the sites and there'll

01:59 be some income of course for the provider because there has to be obviously an incentive

02:03 for any provider to come in and operate these hubs.

02:08 But of course the main stay of income for TfL remains the fare box and of course we

02:15 are uniquely dependent on fares in TfL, unlike other transport authorities in the world.

02:20 And there is certainly a conversation to be had about the funding model, but perhaps that's

02:23 a conversation for another day with government.

02:24 Thank you.

02:25 Thank you.

02:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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