EV drivers face increased enforcement with introduction of Marshals

author: FutureCar Staff    

The UK's largest chain of motorway service stations is taking action to address conflicts between electric car drivers over limited charging points. Due to a lack of connections to the national power grid, industry figures claim that there are not enough charging points available to meet the growing demand. As a result, incidents of "charge rage" have been reported, with drivers becoming frustrated and angry while waiting for charging points to become available.

Moto, which operates 59 service stations across the country, has started recruiting marshals to deal with these situations. The CEO of Moto, Ken McMeikan, warned of potential "public disorder" incidents occurring during peak times. He emphasized the need for EV drivers to have a seamless experience without range anxiety, long queues, or conflicts, particularly during busy periods like Christmas.

While most public charging points can recharge a typical electric vehicle in four hours, service stations are equipped with fast chargers that can do the job in just half an hour. However, even with the faster charging speed, some service stations have experienced queues of up to six hours during busy times of the year.

Moto has already deployed marshals at service stations in Exeter, Rugby, and Wetherby, but there are concerns that "charge rage" incidents will continue to spread. McMeikan, who also drives an EV, highlighted the insufficient capacity of the power grid to meet the increasing demand for power. He warned that without a guaranteed power supply, future peak holiday periods could become equivalent to a fuel crisis for petrol and diesel vehicles.

According to ZapMap, there are currently around 850,000 fully electric cars and 530,000 plug-in hybrids on the roads in Britain. The government claims that it is on track to meet the demand for charging points. There are currently just under 30,000 charging locations with a total of 48,450 points available for drivers. The availability of charging points has increased by 42% in the past year alone. Additionally, two in every 10 new cars registered in the UK are electric.

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport stated that 96% of motorway service areas already have charging facilities, and the industry has plans to install hundreds more charging points in the coming months. The government has invested over £2 billion in the transition to electric vehicles, and the number of public charging points across the country has increased by 43% since last year. The aim is to have 300,000 charge points by 2030.

To contact our news team, please email us at webne[email protected]. For more stories like this, visit our news page.

FutureCar Staff