Bradford Council has issued a warning about fines for drivers overstaying at rapid chargers for electric vehicles, with an overstay fee applying after 90 minutes and then an additional fee of £10 every subsequent 90 minutes.
Twenty-two rapid EV chargers have been installed by the Council in the Bradford district, and all of them will be covered by these new rules, as well as any new installations.
“Other Council charge points are covered by parking regulation orders to prevent none electric vehicles using the bays and to deal with overstay issues – as new charge point locations are added they will be incorporated under the order.”
The news comes as other councils have also started handing out fines to overstaying drivers, with Glasgow and Sheffield penalising with fines of £30 and £20 respectively, and it is expected that further local authorities across the country could also soon start implementing fines for drivers that use the charging points for too long.
Overstaying charges have been introduced in response to the rise in EV ownership outpacing the implementation of a suitable charging network. Too many electric vehicles and too few charge points has led Councils to turn their attention to motorists that stay in public charging spaces for extended periods, preventing other drivers from being able to charge up.
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Recently, experts at LeaseElectricCar have also warned EV owners to keep an eye on the time they spend at a charging bay. Tim Alcock, of LeaseElectricCar, said: “I sympathise with those local authorities who feel the only way to tackle the issue of overcharging is to hand out fines to electric vehicle owners.
“Despite EV owners initially being praised for making the switch to electric, it seems now they are being punished. It is the Government who needs to gear up on their promise to install 300,000 new public charge points up and down the country by 2030. Reports show that the UK is not currently on track to achieve that.”
Recently, Bradford Council had announced a further 38 electric vehicle charge points had been installed across the district to make charging more accessible for more people. Contractor Blink Charging had worked with the council to design and install the new chargers across 14 different locations. Most of the chargers were equipped with at least one fast charger.
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Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: “These new charge points are a welcome addition to our EV charging network, which now means charge points at an additional 14 locations across our district.
“If we want people to switch to electric cars, it is vital that we make charging as accessible as possible, particular for those where installing a charge point at home is not possible, either due to cost of the lack of off-street parking.”
