Oxford set for the world’s first ‘pop-up’ electric vehicle charging points

The city of Oxford has been awarded £474,000 to become the first city in the world to trial ‘pop-up’ on-street electric vehicle charging points. Residents across Oxford are being encouraged to nominate their street to take part in the project, which will see 20 ‘UEone’ retractable pavement bollards installed on streets with on road, off pavement parking. The scheme will be available to residents who currently have electric vehicles, and those who want to own an electric vehicle. Taxi drivers across the UK will be monitoring the trial as cabbies look for a solution to charging new EV taxis roadside at home. The UEone was developed specifically to provide charging for the 43% of UK households who have on-street parking. The charging points will be app-operated and will retract underground when not in use. Olivier Freeling-Wilkinson, Cofounder at Urban Electric said: “The cheapest, most convenient and grid-friendly way to charge an EV is at home at night, yet up to 85% of households in some urban residential areas cannot do so because they park on-street, acting as a barrier to EV adoption. “By giving certainty of access to a home-based charge point for on-street residential parking zones, the UEone makes it possible for local authorities to enable the 11.3m UK households currently excluded from driving an EV with the ability to do so without spoiling street aesthetics. “By installing an over-supply of charging bollards in a street from day one we are creating an abundance of charging spaces that will give consumers without off-street parking the confidence to switch to an EV”