Disability campaigners have criticised the Government's rollout of on-street electric vehicle charging points amid concerns they fail to address the safety risks they pose to vulnerable Britons.
It comes as the Government looks to make it easier for car owners to charge electric vehicles outside their homes in a bid to encourage more people to switch away from petrol and diesel vehicles.
While the move helps increase EV uptake, disability groups have warned about the impact this could have on UK pavements, adding that while more on-street charges could be "transformative" for Blue Badge holders, it risks creating more obstacles on pavements.
Disability campaigners gave evidence at the Transport Committee today, warning Labour that it needs to strike a balance between more electric car chargers on streets and the needs of pavement users.
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Campaigners called for more support for helping drivers with disabilities access EV chargers
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Emma Vogelmann, Head of Policy at Transport for All, said: "A way to get that balance right is by inclusive design, and the only way to do that is by including disabled people from the very beginning.
"Disabled people need to be consulted and continually consulted through the design of these EV charging points." Vogelmann highlighted that over 70 per cent of disabled people want to use more sustainable transport options, including electric vehicles.
"Very few disabled people feel that is an option available to them," she added, citing issues with charging facilities and associated costs.
In response, Jack Cousens, Head of Roads Policy at the AA, explained that solving the charging issue for terraced housing and residential areas is key to the Government's plans.
He said: "With the mass transition that the government is hoping to achieve from combustion to electric, solving that query of how we cater for terraced housing and proper residential areas is key."
Cousens noted that local authorities can access various grants to fund charging infrastructure in residential areas.
But Labour MP Dr Scott Arthur warned that the current approach to EV charging could worsen inequalities. "People who drive have driveways tend to be wealthier," he added.
Vogelmann agreed, adding that disabled people are "more reliant on cars and door-to-door transport than non-disabled people."
The need for more support also follows a report launched which found that just 2.3 per cent of the UK's on-street electric vehicle chargers have been adapted for disabled users.
At the meeting, Cousens suggested several solutions to make EV charging more accessible, including cable gullies for terraced streets, which he noted have become a more popular option for drivers and can prevent hazardous cables being stretched across pavements.
But he warned against "plastic ramps that are big, heavy and intrusive to wheelchair users and people with pushchairs." Cousens also advocated for community charging schemes in high-density residential areas.
The research from Vauxhall also detailed how only 105 on-street chargers (0.5 per cent) are positioned in disabled parking bays across the UK.
Meanwhile, only 238 chargers (1.2 per cent) meet the British Standards Institution's guidelines on accessible EV charging introduced in 2022.
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On-street chargers can cause safety problems for pedestriansPAThe Motability Foundation predicts that 1.35 million disabled drivers will be reliant on public charging infrastructure by 2035 as the UK looks to push forward with its Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.
The mandate would require all new car sales to be electric by 2035, with at least 28 per cent being electric by the end of this year.
A spokesperson for the National Centre of Accessible Transport told GB News: "The National Centre for Accessible Transport barriers database shows that 59 per cent of disabled people already encounter barriers on the street when walking, wheeling, cycling or scootering, so it's important to ensure that percentage doesn't increase following the widespread introduction of EV chargers.
"Let's not make society even less accessible than it is currently. Our Barriers to Streetscape Access report recommends that it will be vitally important to communicate to disabled people any streetworks plans in advance so they are able to plan."
