Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Infrastructure and TechnologyLatestNews

Brent Council works with Zest and Uber

Brent, Zest and Uber have partnered to provide 160 new on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging bays to be installed across 80 locations in the borough.

The on-street charging points aim to improve access for those without private driveways or access to a charge point at their home.

Zest and Uber are funding the project with the former providng the long-term operation of the service and maintenance of the charge points to avoid the council paying for the investment.

The news follows the council’s strategy to support the roll-out of new electric charging infrastructure and help to ensure that the transition is accessible and affordable for residents and businesses.

London is currently Uber’s top city for EVs worldwide, with more than 10,000 electric vehicles on the platform driving more than 20% of trip miles in the capital. 

Michael Lukasz Suchocki, a local Uber driver, said: “Having more chargers is crucial for promoting the widespread adoption of EVs – solving range anxiety and encouraging more people to make the switch. I love driving my Tesla and I switched to reduce both my environmental impact and my fuel costs.”

Councillor Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member, for Environment, Infrastructure, and Climate Action, at Brent Council, said: “In order to reach our target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, we have to make it as easy as possible for residents to pick transport that is good for the environment – this does just that. We are currently 4th in London by the number of charging points and after this project we will have almost 1,000 electric charging points across Brent.’

Robin Heap, CEO of Zest, said: “Mass adoption of electric vehicles, with all the climate and air quality benefits they bring, will only happen when everyone has access to a convenient and reliable charging service.”‍

Andrew Brem, General Manager of Uber UK, said: “We are delighted to work with Brent Council on this vital project to boost EV infrastructure. Getting the first chargers in the ground is a huge milestone with drivers often telling me that being able to access reliable charging near their homes is critical to their decision to switch to an EV.”

Image courtesy of Zest.

Sign up for our essential
newsletter service.

Enter your details here.