Boris Johnson’s plans to turn create the “UK’s largest electric vehicle charge point network” have “gone flat” according to London Assembly Member Darren Johnson who has accused the Mayor of “half hearted” support for electric vehicles.
On Monday the Mayor announced that work has begun on constructing 1,300 new electric charging points expected to enter service “by the end of 2013”, however that figure is far lower than the target of 7,500 charge points by the same date previously announced by the Mayor.
The charging points are being installed by over 40 Source London partners including London boroughs, retailers Sainsburys and Asda and Southern Energy.
In a statement the Mayor said “One of the biggest hurdles to greater use of electric vehicles has been a lack of charging points. But now Londoners will see Source London points popping up in locations all over the Capital. By giving increasing numbers of drivers the confidence in electric vehicle technology we will make a considerable contribution to improving our air quality and cutting carbon emissions.”
However Darren Johnson said the Mayor’s plan to make London the electric car capital of Europe had “completely lost its spark.”
Johnson added: “The Mayor never explained how he would fund the ambitious plans for 25,000 charging points which he launched with a big fan-fair in 2009. There appeared to be a solid commitment to some short term funding made a year ago, but most of that money has now disappeared.
“The Mayor’s commitment to electric vehicles is half hearted. He failed to secure the Nissan/Leaf sponsorship deal for the Olympics which media reports claim would have seen an all electric fleet. He has also failed to guarantee that these charging points will run on renewable energy, so the environmental gains are far less than they should be.”
