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MSP Gillian Martin calls for improvements to charge points for lone female drivers


By Kirsty Brown

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Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin has asked the Scottish Government what work is being done to ensure electric vehicle charge points are in safer and better lit locations to help protect women who may be driving alone.

It comes after Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson announced the publication of a draft vision for Scotland’s public electric vehicle charging network.

He said the use of electric vehicles would play a “key role” in helping the Scottish Government reach its targets to cut emissions by 70 percent by 2030 and to zero by 2045.

Ms Martin, who herself owns and drives an electric vehicle, welcomed announced funding but asked if further rapid chargers on routes in Scotland would be in safe and well-lit locations.

She said: “Full disclosure: as someone who has an electric car it has become apparent to me in the past seven or eight months that for lone female drivers, reliable rapid chargers are absolutely essential so that they do not spend hours alone in their car, and the chargers should be located in safe areas.”

The MSP also asked what work was being done to ensure issues with chargers were being fixed more quickly by the companies who have the contracts.

In response, Mr Matheson said he agreed some older facilities could be poorly lit and without CCTV coverage but said both funding was being provided to local authorities to support them in planning and to ensure charges are in well-lit location.

The Cabinet Secretary added: “On the expansion of rapid chargers, as I said in my statement, Scotland has one of the most extensive networks of rapid chargers of any part of the UK, and we are building on that with further investment in the public sector rapid charger network.

“On repairs, the contract has shifted to a new agency that is responsible for ChargePlace Scotland.

"By and large, most chargers that have a fault reported are repaired within 48 hours.

“There is an issue in that it sometimes takes longer than that, however, and that issue continues to be pursued with the charger maintenance companies.”

Commenting, Ms Martin said: “As the owner of an electric vehicle I understand how important it is to ensure there are enough well-lit and readily accessible charging points for drivers to use.

“As a lone female driver, I have become acutely aware there are some charge point locations which are not in easily accessible locations or well-lit.

"I wanted to feed this experience back to the Cabinet Secretary to ensure it is included in any considerations moving forward.

“I am pleased the Scottish Government is investing in further funding and support for local authorities to help build more charging points.

“This is an important step forward if we want to encourage more people to use electric vehicles and help Scotland achieve its ambitious emissions targets.”


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