Labour Accused of Ignoring Cost of Living Impact of EV Charging Costs

York Liberal Democrats have criticised the Labour administration for failing to address the challenges faced by residents without driveways who are paying significantly more to charge electric vehicles than those able to charge at home.

Speaking at this week’s Council Executive meeting, Cllr Nigel Ayre highlighted the impact that the lack of affordable residential charging is having on York residents.

Cllr Ayre said at the Executive meeting:

"I spoke last week to a single parent who works as a teacher in West Yorkshire. Following the events in the Middle East, they made the bold decision to switch from diesel to electric. They are counting the cost of that decision every day.

“For someone driving an average 8,000 miles per year, the cost of paying at public chargers is an extra £1,440 a year. That is what this administration is inflicting on hard-pressed families during a cost of living crisis.

“Worse still, our current public charging network means running an electric vehicle costs, for the same mileage, £640 a year more than petrol or diesel.

“When the new EV strategy came to scrutiny, cross-party calls for more investment and particularly cross-pavement solutions were ignored.

“This paper, as does the administration, fails to deal with the real issues residents in York are facing. It's time to get serious about ensuring our charging network is fit for purpose."

During the meeting, Executive Member for Transport Cllr Kate Ravillious refused to address questions raised about cross-pavement charging and other on-street charging solutions for residents without driveways.

Reacting after the meeting, Cllr Paula Widdowson, York Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environment and Climate Emergency, said:

“I was shocked that Cllr Ravillious appeared determined to stick her head in the sand over the issue of on-street EV charging and told the public that she did not recognise the figures showing how much more people are paying for public charging.

"This is a cost of living issue affecting thousands of residents who live in terraced streets and homes without driveways.

"It was staggering to hear the Executive Member for Transport dismiss these figures. Residents who can charge at home can pay around 16p per kilowatt hour, while those forced to rely on public charging can face costs of 89p per kilowatt hour or more.

"That can leave people paying around £35 more every time they charge a family-sized electric car simply because of where they live.

"These are real costs being paid by real people every day. Residents understand the impact on their household budgets and they deserve an Executive Member who understands it too.

"The Government has announced funding specifically designed to help councils explore cross-pavement and gulley charging solutions. The Council has dismissed these opportunities, Liberal Democrats believe York should be doing everything possible to secure funding and trial new approaches.

"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.

"If the council is serious about helping residents through the cost of living crisis, reducing emissions and encouraging the switch to electric vehicles, it needs to stop ignoring this problem.”