Transport for London invest £18 million in EV scheme

TfL is working with different boroughs and investing £18 million to unlock potential sites to roll out rapid electric vehicle charging.

Strategic hubs are also being evaluated on arterial roads, owned and maintained by TfL, and on private land, including Heathrow Airport and multiple Shell service stations.

These are off-road locations that have potential to house a number of rapid charge points.

Following a bidding process, suppliers were appointed by TFL and will provide the rapid charging points.

Successful firms include Centrica Consortium, BluepointLondon, Chargemaster, Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and Fastned.

They will fund, maintain, operate and install the network.

The operators will move quickly to install the charge points, with the first being operational within a matter of months.

They will power vehicles in close to 30 minutes, compared with the three to four hours when using a standard unit.

The initial aim is to see 75 charging points in the ground by the end of this year, with the network growing to 150 by the end of 2018 and 300 fully functioning by 2020.

Ben Plowden, TfL's director of surface strategy and planning, said: “Urgent action needs to be taken to clean up London's toxic air and rid the Capital of the most polluting vehicles.

“An extensive rapid charging network is fundamental in helping drivers make the shift from fossil fuels to electric. This is particularly important for the taxi and private hire trades and the fleet and freight sector, which over the next few years will be looking to dramatically increase the number of journeys made with zero-exhaust emissions.”