We warmly welcome a new amendment made to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the House of Commons yesterday which will help ensure that disabled people are not left behind by the transition to EVs.
The amendment gives the Government powers to mandate the BSI PAS 1899 public charging standard by law if the accessibility of public chargers does not improve.
We co-sponsored the BSI PAS 1899 standard alongside UK Government, to provide clear specifications for making public EV chargepoints accessible.
Lisa Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Motability Foundation said:
“It has been the Motability Foundation’s position for some time that the PAS 1899 standard should made mandatory by law, so we’re very pleased to see this amendment being made.
“We estimate that 1.35 million disabled drivers in the UK will need to use public EV chargers by 2035, so it’s absolutely vital that chargepoints are being made accessible. Our research has found that disabled people can face a range of barriers when using public chargepoints, from cables that are too heavy to screens and buttons that are impossible to reach.
“We have spoken to many providers of public charging who are absolutely committed to accessibility, and have seen some great examples of this in practice, but with chargepoints being delivered at pace we know that more work is needed to ensure that disabled people are able to make the journeys they choose in EVs.”
New review on PAS 1899 standard published
A new review report has also been published today which provides recommendations on updating the PAS 1899 accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging standard. It was jointly commissioned by the Motability Foundation and UK Government.
This review provided an opportunity for chargepoint providers to give feedback on using the standard and also to engage further with disabled people on their experiences with public charging. It involved contributions from a range of stakeholders including disability organisations, industry groups, consumer bodies and devolved governments.
Lisa continued: “We would like to thank everyone who took part in the review and gave their feedback.
“We are now working with Government on plans for an updated version of PAS 1899. We want to provide a standard that is achievable and can be used by all chargepoint operators to meet the accessibility needs of disabled people. We will continue to engage with all providers of public charging as part of this process. This will also ensure the standard is in a position to be mandated by law if that step is required.”