The £2million funding, secured as part of the two-year
Budget agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid
Cymru, will be used to help create a publicly accessible
national network of rapid charging points by 2020.
The funding will be focused on locations on or near
strategic Welsh road networks, with a particular emphasis
on North-South and East-West journeys.
The Transport Secretary said he had also tasked
officials to explore the feasibility of funding charging
points at park and ride facilities and at taxi ranks.
He confirmed he was looking at a national concession model
to deliver and run the network, whereby a contractor would
have the exclusive right to operate, maintain and carry out
investment in the network. He envisaged the contract would
be procured and overseen by Transport for Wales
(TfW).
said:
“We are committed to promoting the use of electric and
hybrid vehicles in the transition from petrol and diesel.
“This funding for electric charging points will be a
massive boost to the network and will help motorists who
want to use electric vehicles for longer journeys.
“This could prove to be a catalyst for change in our
efforts to support the use of electric vehicles. We have
chosen to focus on the North/South and East/West routes
as we realise their importance for travelling around
Wales.
“In these challenging times it is more important than
ever that we work to improve sustainable transport links,
to increase our low carbon transport options and to make
Wales as accessible as we can.
“This funding is a clear demonstration of our commitment
towards mitigating the impacts of climate change
alongside reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and
improving air quality.”
There are currently 500 publicly accessible charging points
in Wales and 2,500 plug in vehicles.
With the number of new electric and hybrid car
registrations in Wales having increased by 35% in 2017 the
Welsh Government hopes that this latest investment will
help to meet the rising demand and encourage more people in
Wales to invest in electric vehicles.
