Paralympic legend and member of the House of Lords Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has called on the Government to introduce new law changes to ensure all public electric car charging sites are accessible for all motorists.
Baroness Grey-Thompson has publicly backed the likes of ChargeSafe, the Motability Foundation and RECHARGE UK in calling for the Government to introduce new measures to make sites more accessible.
The former wheelchair racer, who won 11 gold medals at the Paralympic games between 1992 and 2004, recently attended a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Electric Vehicles.
She spoke to RECHARGE UK about her own experiences when making the transition to an electric vehicle, saying that a switch was a "complete no-go" because accessibility at charging stations was an issue.
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Tanni Grey-Thompson won 11 gold medals at the Paralympics
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Grey-Thompson identified a number of issues putting her off, including the height of charging stations, high steps, gravel and a lack of wide spaces to the side of the vehicles.
She said: "One place we looked at I might have been able to use the charger but there were no accessible spaces so I could not get my chair out of the car to be able to use it.
"There was also an issue with lighting. One place I checked later at night felt very isolated and I was not sure I would feel safe getting out."
The crossbencher House of Lords member is now calling for the BSI PAS 1899:2022 specification to be mandated across the UK to support motorists.
This would see designers, procurers and installers given essential specifications on how to make public electric vehicle charging stations accessible.
RECHARGE UK highlighted how British specifications are voluntary, meaning charge point operators, landowners and land administrators have no legal obligation to comply with PAS 1899.
The Baroness added: "It is appalling that it has not been considered before and that we are retrospectively trying to fight for it.
"It is clearly unacceptable that it has been possible to build EV charging infrastructure without accessibility.
"As we move to electric vehicles disabled people will experience more discrimination if they are not able to transition. Take responsibility for doing it and don’t hide behind lack of guidance.”
The call is being supported by Baroness Jenny Randerson, who is an EV owner and has submitted written questions to the Lords about accessibility and called for "urgent Government action".
Grey-Thompson recently called for greater accessibility measures after she was forced to "crawl off" an LNER train earlier this week after train staff did not arrive to help her off the train.
She said level boarding to make trains more accessible for those using wheelchairs but accused the Government of "kicking the can down the road". The six-time winner of the London Marathon is in Paris to attend the Paralympic Games and provide analysis for Channel 4's coverage.
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Campaigners are calling for law changes to ensure accessibility
ETC.Matthew Adams, transport policy manager for the REA, said: "Net zero road transport should be for everyone. We have a unique opportunity to solve concerns around accessibility that we have simply never solved at petrol pumps across the UK.
"We are currently involved in reviewing PAS 1899 to make it 100% deliverable and I’m sure once that process is complete the Government will be able to use it as the basis behind mandating minimum levels of accessibility for public charging sites."
