Map shows kerbside charging needs based on where van drivers live

Fleet industry trade body, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), has issued a UK assessment of where kerbside charging is needed to support adoption of electric vehicles by businesses that employ company van drivers.

The analysis is based upon where van drivers live and the type of homes they live in. The underlying database contains 75,000 records and the map and statistics are aggregated to local authority level.

Paul Hollick, AFP chair, said, “As businesses move to electrify their company vehicles, the high number of drivers without space available off-road to have a charger installed is a major obstacle to electrification. This is especially the case for electric vans, whose drivers are much more likely to live in a terraced house or apartment and lack offstreet parking.

“In these locations, kerbside facilities need to be installed in order for crucial overnight charging to take place – and the new map has been created in order to show national and local government, as well as charging providers, exactly where these new chargers are needed by our members.

“It means that fleet operators can engage in conversations directly with these partners about how quickly charging can be installed. It’s very much a situation where, until facilities are available, it is very difficult for electric vans to be adopted. Our aim is for kerbside charging to be made available within a safe 4-5 minute walk for all of these employee drivers.

“The situation is exacerbated by the fact that many publicly available charging points are simply not big enough to take a panel van. For electric vans to become widely used by fleets, a massive upgrading of the general infrastructure is essential. “

The map was produced by net-zero analytics consultancy Field Dynamics. Partner Charlie Gilbert said, “We’ve created the data based on a driver having space for a typical electric van. The map shows overall driver footprint demand with more detailed statistics about higher and lower kerbside charging need areas.

“We’ll be updating the map on an ongoing basis and are looking for it to be used by as many interested parties as possible.”

Hollick added, “We’re very keen for more fleets to add their data to make the map ever more complete, and we’d like to hear from businesses who would be able to contribute their van driver information. This is, of course, anonymised and handled in accordance with all relevant data regulations.”