Transport Insights

A couple of weeks ago I noted that the government was backing away from a commitment to install 300,000 public chargepoints by 2030 via mandatory targets. Now the Guardian reports that “Labour ministers have scrapped a promise by the previous government for a £950m fund for installing electric car chargers near motorways”.

The rapid charging fund (RCF), announced in 2020 by then chancellor Rishi Sunak was supposed to support upgrades to the grid to get more electricity to service stations.

In December 2023 the Department for Transport launched a £70 million pilot scheme to “power up motorway service areas to pave the way for ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints”, rather lazily using a picture (right) of a car being charged at the roadside.

However, this March the Guardian reported that ministers were considering “diverting money” from the RCF, which had still not paid out any grants.

Reading the latest Guardian story, you get the impression that most experts consider the RCF to be pretty ineffective, with complaints focusing on whether the money should have been spent elsewhere.

Increasing the number of public chargers is seen as crucial to persuading people to switch to electric cars. However, the focus has shifted from rapid chargers, which can allay “range anxiety” on longer journeys, to the slower on-street chargers needed for car owners who do not have private parking spaces.

But here’s the rub:

The Department for Transport said the RCF had never formally been included in budget plans, so the promise was unfunded.

There isn’t any money to divert, like a lot of Tory transport promises.

But what about the March story that said…

Much of the cash allocated to the rapid charging fund (RCF) could be redirected to investments in other charging schemes, or to support the transition to electric vehicles more broadly, although decisions have yet to be made, according to a person close to discussions in government.

And

A government source said that there is no plan to scrap the programme, but added that it needed to be adjusted to reflect the changes in the market.

“We want to make best use of government money,” the person said. “The concept of supporting charging is not going anywhere.”

One lesson from this is never to put any weight on an anonymous source who tells you that there are “no plans” to do something.

And “not going anywhere” is an interesting choice of words for the concept of supporting charging as the government backs away from it.