Electric vehicle charging sites being explored

Bridgend County Borough Council is investigating options for providing more charging points for electric vehicles.

As part of the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) strategy, a number of potential locations have been identified at publicly-accessible and workplace sites across the county borough.

Work is due to begin this year on a taxi charging point at Hillsboro Place Car Park in Porthcawl and funding is being sought for charging points at Brynmenyn Industrial Estate, Bridgend Life Centre, Porthcawl, Maesteg Car Park, Bridgend town centre, Bryncethin Depot and the Civic Offices car park.

Welsh Government has set a target of zero emissions from buses and taxis by 2028 and the CCR was awarded £1.3m in May 2020 to help deliver initiatives to meet this goal.

The projects include infrastructure for electric taxis and private hire vehicles and 34 chargers are due to be installed at 31 sites across the region by the end of the summer.

A ‘Try before you buy’ scheme is also being put in place for taxi drivers to encourage them to transition to wheelchair-accessible electric vehicles. This is expected to be in operation by early July and webinars are being organised to answer operators’ questions.

Across the region, 112 sites have been identified for electric charging points for public use, as well as 15 sites for bus charging points.

In future, hydrogen, renewable energy and digital technology will also be explored to help achieve emissions targets.

I am delighted with the excellent progress we are making on these initiatives, which will help Wales play its part in tackling climate change.

We have a real opportunity for the CCR to lead the UK, to be an exemplar region in both the deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure, and in the subsequent take up of ULEVs. We have the ambition, the plans, the right networks and collaborative working practices and the ability to deliver at pace and at scale.

The delivery of this programme will help us realise our vision for the future of transport, sustain real behavioural change and put the region on a pathway to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with taxis and buses accelerated much earlier in line with Welsh Government’s 2028 target.

Bridgend County Borough Council Leader Huw David, who is also Chair of the CCR Transport Authority