Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes was joined by representatives of the Electric Vehicle Association and Scottish Electric Vehicle Drivers at Ingliston to try out one of 21 chargers – six rapid (six charging bays) and 15 slow (30 charging bays). Another five rapid chargers (five bays) and 14 slow chargers (28 bays) will soon be operational at Hermiston Park and Ride.
Preliminary work is also underway to install an additional 41 rapid and fast chargers – amounting to 72 charging bays – at on-street locations in residential areas around the Capital. These will be complete and available for use by early summer.
The roll-out, designed to encourage and support the take-up of cleaner, low emission transport like electric vehicles, is being funded by £2.2 million awarded through Transport Scotland's Switched on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund.
Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said: "These new chargers will provide convenient charging for people travelling in and out of the Capital, and very soon we'll be delivering fast, accessible charge points in residential streets around the city too.
"The transition to clean, low emission transport like electric vehicles is critical if we are to meet our ambitious net zero 2030 target, alongside choosing walking, wheeling, cycling or taking public transport to get around. It's our role to support and encourage this so it's fantastic that we're now rolling out electric vehicle charging infrastructure across Edinburgh."
Councillor Karen Doran, Transport and Environment Vice Convener, said: "Today we marked the start of an ambitious, strategic programme to install charging points across the city which will soon benefit thousands of people.
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"Electric vehicles both help to lower our carbon footprint and limit air pollution, so it's really encouraging that more and more people are making the switch to electric cars."
Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said: "I'm pleased to see Scottish Government investment of £2.2 million deliver new electric vehicle charging infrastructure across Edinburgh.
"Our Switched on Towns and Cities funding is transforming Edinburgh's provision of charge points, not only at key park and ride sites, but also through 72 new on-street charging bays at various locations across the city.
"This will improve air quality and protect our climate – directly supporting our commitment to phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030."
While the use of existing chargers is currently free, charging tariffs, as agreed by Council as part of the budget-setting process, are to be introduced in May. Any revenue generated will be used to fund the ongoing costs associated with our electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The council is currently looking at future locations for electric vehicle chargers using data from two Energy Savings Trust studies and have developed a scoring framework. As part of this several potential new locations for chargers have been identified for investigation, subject to funding.
Electric Vehicle Association Scotland Director Neil Swanson added: "What we are experiencing today is a seismic change towards low emission transportation.
"As Scotland forges ahead with ever increasing numbers of electric vehicle sales month-on-month, it is important that the country's public charging infrastructure simultaneously meets the rising demand for a range of suitably located charge points.
"As the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have already indicated in their recently announced commitment to meeting these challenges, there is an urgent need to keep pace with the rapid uptake by those who see the financial as well as the environmental benefits of going all-electric.
"EVA Scotland welcomes this essential, indeed fundamental objective and is committed to working with all those who can make this happen. We cannot go forward in our climate change obligations without having our vital charging infrastructure in place.
"What we see here in Edinburgh today represents significant investment, realising a major step forward by Edinburgh to ensure there are adequate numbers of charging facilities in place across the Capital to meet the increasing demand by all those making the switch to electric powered vehicles.
"We hope to see this truly ambitious effort replicated across the whole of Scotland...it is essential."
Dr Euan McTurk, Plug Life Television, said: "The long-awaited expansion of the electric vehicle charging facilities at Ingliston Park and Ride is exactly the level of ambition that Councils across Scotland should be trying to emulate.
"Ingliston's original rapid charger was one of the busiest in Scotland, and the six new ones next to it - doubled from the originally planned three new chargers - will no doubt be kept equally busy by a steady stream of electric taxis, delivery vans and drivers from the M8, M9 and M90. The addition of 30 new destination charge sockets next to the original four, mean that commuters and visitors to Edinburgh who don't have a home charge point will no longer face a lottery of whether they'll be able to charge their car whilst they're in town.
"It's equally promising to hear that similar charging hubs are being built across numerous sites in Edinburgh for residents, businesses and commuters, and that this is just the first of three much-needed phases of charging infrastructure expansion for Scotland's capital."
