Government introduces two new schemes to promote use of electric cars

It will soon be much easier for motorists to go electric, thanks to Government plans for a systematic map of charging points for plug-in vehicles – right across the country.

Transport Minister Norman Baker and Business Minister Mark Prisk have announced details of the ‘National Chargepoint Registry’, a publicly accessible database of charging points around the UK. It will be developed by POD Point, a UK-based company and – since half of POD Point’s existing business is actually software development – it’s no surprise that they’ve quickly spotted the potential for plenty of new smart products based on the Registry.

These include sat navs and mobile apps that help plug-in vehicle owners to get where they want with less stress. As Norman Baker puts it, it will help us to “get away from the mindset of will-I-won’t-I, get there?”

There’s another new scheme on the way, too. The Central Whitelist will allow charging scheme operators to share membership card details – which doesn’t sound too exciting till you realise what this means for electric vehicle drivers. We – the drivers – will be able to access charging points outside our ‘home’ charging schemes, and hence we’ll be able to roam the country without having to sign up to new schemes every time we charge up in a new location. It seems an obvious solution, now that the scheme has been announced – and it must surely be a big step forward in making plug-in vehicles practical and usable. And, even better, we’re told it could be extended abroad, too.

Both schemes are due to go live early next year.

Of the 28 million cars currently on the road in the UK, only around 2000 are electric. The government hopes the new schemes – and its target of 8000 recharge points nationally by 2013 – will  encourage wider take-up of the technology.

[Photography: istockphotos.com]