Isra-Mart srl: Mayor launches Source London EV charging network

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The mayor of London has cut the ribbon on a network of electric vehicle charge points, dubbed Source London, which is hoped to spur similar schemes across the country.

London mayor Boris Johnson today launched Source London as part of plans to install 1,300 electric charging points by the end of 2013. The scheme includes 150 new charge points, which drivers can access with a single swipe card.

Source London, a consortium led by Transport for London that also includes Siemens and Scottish and Southern Energy, said it was hoping to link up to a similar scheme in the east of England, allowing EV drivers to use both schemes with one card.

Johnson said he hoped the scheme would rapidly boost the uptake of electric vehicles and make London the centre of EV in Europe.

"'Through Source London we want to give drivers the confidence that they can plug into this fantastic new motoring technology," he said. "We are working with a mighty coalition of motor manufacturers and private sector partners as well as London's boroughs to ensure we create world-class support for electric motoring."

However, London Assembly member Darren Johnson of the Green Party reiterated his concerns that the mayor has scaled back his original plans for 7,500 electric car charging points on London's roads by 2013.

"The mayor's commitment to electric vehicles is half-hearted, and I'm concerned that he is about to scale back on his target of having a thousand vehicles in the GLA group fleet," he said. "He failed to secure the Nissan/Leaf sponsorship deal for the Olympics, which media reports claim would have seen at least half of the fleet being made up of electric vehicles. He has also failed to guarantee that the charging points will run on renewable energy, so the environmental gains are far less than they should be."