Electric driving in Three Rivers District
Three Rivers District has many Electric Vehicle Charging points available to the public (60 in April 2022). Most are provided commercially and you can see how well-served local people are by public charging points at the official Department for Transport EV charging map.
There are now many models and options available if you want to drive an electric vehicle ('EV'). The problem of short range is being rapidly overcome by larger batteries and the network of public charging points is constantly growing.
You can find out where charging points are from many mapping providers online, by searching on 'public vehicle charging points' or visit the Energy Saving Trust here for information on owning, running and charging an Electric vehicle. The District Council is planning new charge point installations, shown below or see the information here electric charging points.
Support to help you switch to electric driving
Government Grants for charging at home and at work
The Government offers grants to help you or your landlord to pay for your home car charger and other grants help your employer to install charge points at your workplace. Please visit the Government Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).
Planned electric charging points by Three Rivers District Council
The District Council's agreed approach is to consider the potential provision of 'rapid charging' points to enhance the attractiveness of local centres for business users and retail visitors, as well as providing an opportunity for local residents who have no private charging to charge their cars, subject to the availability of external funding.
Until suitable Government grants are available for local Councils to introduce public rapid charging points (which, like petrol pumps, are usually provided by commercial firms) on their own land, the District Council has determined to investigate using capital funding of at least £120,000 to encourage local uptake of electric driving.
The District Council's Transport & Parking Projects team is in the process of procuring electric vehicle charging points for its car parks to enable and encourage drivers to visit local shops, and to help local people who need public electric charging points.
A pilot scheme of six points are planned in all the District Centres if this scheme proves popular. The Council also supports the introduction of ‘rapid’ electric vehicle charging points for use by taxi firms around the District.
Public charging points to enable electric driving
Public charge points are important to enable drivers to visit the local area but they are not essential for residents who want to switch to electric vehicles (except where residents have no private parking).
As a key benefit of Electric Driving is financial, with fuel charges that are comparable to a tank of petrol costing around £10-15, many new electric drivers prefer to charge at home overnight rather than relying on costly public charging points, except for occasional longer journeys.
For charge points on public roads, Herts County Council is the Local Highway Authority. District Councils can only introduce them on their own land, for which there is no regular Government funding, although Watford Borough Council is trialling a pilot scheme for on-road chargers, for the County Council.