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Another month and another protest group seems to be getting a lot of coverage over all forms of media. Earlier in the year the talk was about Extinction Rebellion, but more recently it’s Just Stop Oil attracting all the attention. From slow marches, to sporting events, to a wedding interruption that turned out to be nothing to do with the group, we haven’t had so many orange-clad people across our screens since the iconic Tango adverts from the 1990s.

However, while there was a lot of talk about the protests themselves, there was little coverage of what the group is actually trying to achieve or what it stands for. But that’s nothing new – choosing to look at one specific angle of a story without specifically considering the ‘why’ factor seems to be an all-to-common tactic these days.

There’s a certain similarity with the EV charging infrastructure in the UK. Anti-EV people (of which there are a lot) seem to revel when there’s a story of a charger not working or a queue for chargers and run with it as clear evidence that the whole 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles is a non-starter. When, in reality, anyone can see that it is very much work in progress and that there will be the odd bump in the road. It’s a bit like looking at a building site of a house mid-renovation and saying it doesn’t look very nice. It wouldn’t, because it’s not finished!

From personal experience, I’ve seen evidence of infrastructure trying to catch up with the growing number of EVs on the road. On more than one occasion, I’ve rocked up to a major hub that has working chargers, but also has evidence of ongoing cosmetic work clear for everyone to see. It didn’t really bother me at the time because it didn’t affect my experience – or ability to charge.

It did, however, stick in my memory as evidence of how keen the people involved are to get the network fit for purpose by 2030. In fact, as I write, news has been announced that the number of chargers has increased in every region of the UK since April 2023. In total, there are now nearly 45,000 public EV charging devices across the UK.

This issue of EV Fleet World has a few examples of charge point operators and other areas of industry putting in the work to help make driving and running EVs as straightforward as possible. Of course there is a commercial element to it all, but the drive to offer public and home charging to as many people as possible – as soon as possible – is, in my opinion, to be applauded. We continue on the journey that represents the biggest change in personal transportation since the car was invented, so there are bound to be issues along the way. But there don’t have to be so many. If those who oppose something actually found out how they could help, it might even make the (EV) world a better place…

Enjoy the issue.

John Challen Editor