By John Challen

The rollout of electric vehicle chargers has helped urban and densely populated – or visited – areas, but it’s not the same story in rural settings. Indeed, there so many factors in enhancing rural mobility, as laid out in CIHT’s Rural Mobility Toolkit, that the case for more charging points should be a simple fix.

Cast your mind back even a few years ago and the increased adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) was met with a plethora of concerns about how, and where, they would be charged, such was the inadequate infrastructure. Fast forward to the end of June 2024, and statistics show there were nearly 65,000 public EV chargers across 33,829 charging locations. That’s a year-on-year increase of 46% and doesn’t include charge points at homes and in workplaces.

However, dig a little deeper and there are huge regional discrepancies. While Greater London leads the way with 210 chargers per 100,000 people, bottom-of-the-pile Northern Ireland boasts just 24 per 100,000, with the North West next on the list with 49 per 100k.

But being a less-densely populated area shouldn’t be a reason not to have investment in ways and means to reach net zero. The Rural Services Network (RSN) is just one of the organisations around the country fighting the cause of those who live outside of major cities and towns. It recognises that transport presents: ‘One of the most significant challenges in rural decarbonisation, with the need for a more extensive network of electric vehicle charging points and innovations in electric and hydrogen public transport options.’

Sharon Payne, Transport East’s Regional Rural Mobility Manager; credit: Sharon Payne.

Fighting the rural cause 

Within its policy solutions around the area of transportation, the RSN highlights vehicle fuel cost protection, an expanded local vehicle charging network and upgrades to electricity infrastructure, given the expected increase in the demand for power.

Will the change in government make a difference? Kerry Booth, the RSN’s Chief Executive certainly hopes so.

“As we welcome the new government, we are optimistic about the opportunities ahead to drive significant improvements in rural communities,” she says. “Our mission is to ensure that rural areas receive fair funding, enhanced connectivity, and robust public services. By working together, we can create sustainable and thriving rural communities that contribute to the nation's overall prosperity.”

Representing Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, Transport East is aiming to reduce the high levels of car dependency in the region and has launched the Rural Mobility Centre of Excellence to help. “The Centre of Excellence works with experts in rural mobility and decarbonisation,” explains Sharon Payne, Transport East’s Regional Rural Mobility Manager. “This creates a single source of evidence and innovative recommendations for all of England’s sub-national transport bodies and central government to reduce transport emissions in rural areas.”

So far, the centre has helped with decarbonising rural areas by supporting the region with the transition to EVs, campaigning for bus improvements and working with local authorities to enable active travel in non-urban areas. Rural experts – as well as people from Active Travel England – have also been sought out for advice and assistance.

North of the border, a £7m investment was recently announced in Scotland to encourage private investment in the region’s EV charging network. There is a particular focus on the rural and island communities, and the hope is for the money to be used to create 24,000 public charge points by 2030.

Image: Sharon Payne, Transport East’s Regional Rural Mobility Manager; credit: Sharon Payne.

Newsletter image: EV charging point on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland; credit: Shutterstock.