Slow start for park and plug points

DRIVERS of electric vehicles have used Oldham’s park and plug charging points only 12 times since they went live over four months ago.

Charging bays across Greater Manchester have been used only 780 times since the £2.7 million scheme was launched in July.

But bosses of the Greater Manchester Electric Vehicle (GMEV) scheme are encouraged by the figures — and say electric car use is still in its infancy.

David Hytch, TfGM’s information services director, said: “It’s very encouraging to see that GMEV charging bays are starting to be used more often.

“Across Greater Manchester they’ve already been used more than 780 times which, given that the electric vehicle industry is in its infancy, is very positive.

“The investment we’ve made on behalf of the Government and the 10 local authorities is very much about providing the right environment for the use of electric vehicles to grow and we’re already starting to see evidence of that.

Oldham charging points

The five charging bays in Oldham town centre are at: Civic Centre car park (Queen Elizabeth Hall forecourt), Hobson Street lower ground floor car park, Rock Street, Waterloo Street car park and George Street.

The non-town centre charging bays are: Croft Street car park (Failsworth), St John Street/Elliott Street car park (Lees), Kershaw Street East/Westway car park (Shaw), Chadderton Town Hall and the Metrolink park and ride locations at Derker and Hollinwood.

A map with all current charging point locations across Greater Manchester can be found at ev.tfgm.com.