Charger anxiety is the new range anxiety, causing drivers to worry about accessing charging points. Now Zap Map believes it has a solution…
Charger Anxiety
For a number of years, drivers were concerned about transitioning to electric cars due to ‘range anxiety’ This is the fear that, before completing a journey, an EV would run out of charge and become stranded. Given that the average journey by car in the UK is below 30 miles, and that most EVs now have at least 150 miles of range, the fear is starting to be dispelled. It has, however, been replaced by charger anxiety. This is caused by a lack of adequate charging infrastructure or, alternatively, an inability to access it.
Whilst the number of public chargers in the UK is growing at a rapid pace, most of them use different payment methods; requiring EV drivers to subscribe to a range of services and download a number of different apps. This is, as you can imagine, time-consuming and inconvenient. Now, however, Zap-Map (a popular electric car chargepoint location app) believes it has the solution.
Zap-Map’s Solution
There are more than 40 charge point providers in the UK and 7 out of ten EV drivers suffer from charger anxiety as a result. Zap-Map is now introducing ‘Zap-Pay’, which will enable drivers to search, plan and pay for their charging via a single app. All drivers need to to is plug their car in and the app will handle the rest for them. Ben Lane, joint MD at Zap-Map, explained the service. He said, “no one should need dozens of accounts, apps and cards to charge their car. Providing a seamless charging experience is essential to accelerate this shift”.
The government has also spoken about the need to standardise charge point accessibility, especially when it comes to making payments. Rachel Maclean, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, said “it should be as easy for drivers to charge their vehicles at public charge points as it is to pay for petrol or diesel. as the EV market continues to go from strength to strength, journey planning and paying with one app or membership card must also follow – Zap-Pay will help do just that”.
What It Means
It might not sound like a major technological innovation, but Zap-Map’s app is a game-changer. Until now, using public chargers could be extremely tedious; even daunting some some less tech-savvy drivers. Now it’s only a matter of time before charge point accessibility, and payment methods, are truly standardised; this will go a long way in addressing charger anxiety and boosting the uptake of electric vehicles. That’s good news for the automotive industry, drivers and the climate.
A Third Of British Drivers Are ‘Optimistic’ About Going Electric – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/a-third-of-british-drivers-are-optimistic-about-going-electric/
Green Number Plates Will Launch Later This Year For EVs – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-news/green-number-plates-will-launch-later-this-year-for-evs/