Working to achieve net zero carbon emissions
from transport in our region
Transport East has undertaken extensive research to understand the region’s challenges for the projected electric vehicle (EV) uptake.
Transport East and neighbouring Sub-national Transport Body England's Economic Heartland are working with the region's Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) - and other regional partners and national partners - to support the transition to electric vehicles.
Private vehicle ownership plays a key part in keeping people connected to essential services, especially in a region with a sparse geography. With 1/3 people living in an area classed as rural, private transport remains the most popular mode of transport for people in the East, partly due to the restricted public transport offering. This high reliance of private vehicles creates challenges for the region, including:
- 42% of carbon emissions in the East are being produced from transport, with car ownership being a major contributor to this. This is higher than the national average of 26%.
- there are limitations within public transport - particularly in rural and smaller communities - to provide the level of connectivity people require.
Our strategic priorities include decarbonising transport, energising rural communities and keeping our towns and cities connected. This is why our work to support the transition to Electric Vehicles (EV) aims to provide a single source of data, support and recommendations to transport officers in the East. We can help accelerate the rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI) in the region and keep up with charging demands as more people and businesses move to electric vehicles.
Our research outlines the scale and types of public EVCI needed to meet projected demands from the increasing number of privately owned EVs. It’s also supporting LTAs with their EV strategies by monitoring and measuring their progress, along with recommendations to make improvements where applicable.
Current number of public charging points in the East*:
July 2024
2,103
(6% increase from April 2024)
April 2024
1,984
(6% increase from January 2024)
*Data from the Department for Transport. Find out more here.
How is Transport East making a difference?
Regional Electric Vehicle Strategy Evaluations, Action Plans and Learnings (REVEAL)
Our most recent report outlines the latest levels of EV ownership and EVCI available across LTAs. Compared to the projections outlined in EV:Ready work, publicly charging infrastructure is keeping up with projected demand.
Recommendations from this report have also been shared with Local Transport Authorities to assess and further develop their EV strategies.
EV infrastructure forecast with EV:Ready and insights through the ELectric Vehicle Insight Study (ELVIS)
Our first major piece of work provided Local Authorities with baseline data of the number of EVs owned and publicly available EVCI across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Southend and Thurrock, along with projections and recommendations to efficiently deliver charging infrastructure.
EV:Ready offers a dashboard tool, developed by WSP, which provides transport officers with an evidence base and mapping tool to help understand, plan and prioritise where EVCI should be delivered across the region.
ELVIS supported EV:Ready by supplying local authorities, energy providers and private sector charge-point operators with recommendations to work more effectively to deliver EVCI in the right place and support the EV:Ready projections for low and high EV uptake.