Some York electric car owners are forced to pay up to £35 more to recharge their vehicle compared to others, a councillor has claimed.
The comments come amid hopes fees could soon be lower.
Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Cllr Paula Widdowson said public charging point fees of up to 89p per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh) compared to paying around 16p p/kWh at home.
Cllr Kate Ravilious, City of York Council’s Labour transport spokesperson, said they were hoping to be able to negotiate lower charging rates and were working to expand the public charging network.
It follows a decision from the council’s executive to seek a new operator to run York’s public charging network.
The move to tender a five-year contract to run the network comes after current operator BP Pulse pulled out, saying it was unable to meet its obligations.
York’s network includes chargers in council-run car parks and HyperHubs and the Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar Park & Ride sites.
Network tariffs start at a subscriber rate of 52p p/kWh for fast charging and 69p p/kWh for rapid and ultrafast chargers.
Fast charging fees for pay as you go, contactless and online customers are 65p p/kWh or 89 p/kWh for rapid and ultrafast rates.
A 59p p/kWh rate is also available when using contactless payments at rapid and ultrafast chargers.
People without driveways
The council intends to set lower local tariffs once an alternative operator is found, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands from authority sources.
But the Liberal Democrats claimed the council’s Labour administration was failing to address the challenges faced by people without driveways who had to pay significantly more to charge their cars.
Opposition leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said one single parent they spoke to had been left counting the cost of their decision to switch to an electric car.
Cllr Ayre said: “They work as a teacher in West Yorkshire and following the events in the Middle East, they made the bold decision to switch from diesel to electric.
“For someone driving an average 8,000 miles per year, the cost of paying at public chargers is an extra £1,440-a-year, our current public charging network means running an electric vehicle costs for the same mileage £640-a-year more than petrol or diesel.”
Environment spokesperson Cllr Widdowson claimed the council had dismissed opportunities to look into cross-pavement and gulley charging solutions which could allow more residents to charge at home.
The Liberal Democrat said: “Residents who can charge at home can pay around 16p p/kWh, while those forced to rely on public charging can face costs of up to 89p p/kWH.
“These are real costs being paid by real people every day.
“We all recognise there are challenges in a historic city like York, but that is not an excuse for refusing to engage with the issue.”
‘Targeting limited resources’
Labour transport executive member Cllr Ravilious said the Liberal Democrats were engaging in cynical party politics over a positive decision allowing lower tariffs to be negotiated.
Cllr Ravilious added they were not ignoring cross-pavement charging and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority had applied for funding to explore it, with results from elsewhere being monitored.
The executive member said: “We support people who wish to transition to electric cars with a strategy that installs a denser network of community charge points in local neighbourhoods, with a focus on the areas where residents don’t have access to private off-street parking.
“A quarter of York’s households don’t have access to a car, therefore, we are actively targeting our limited resources to support the people who need it most such as subsidising extended bus service hours and lower fares.
“Cross-pavement EV charging is not a magic bullet, the restricted space of terraced streets can pit residents against each other as there is no right, on the public highway, to park next to your charge point.
“Our calculations suggest the average York driver will not save money once annual licence fees and safety checks are included.”
