Addison Lee, the UK’s largest quality private hire, courier, and black taxi provider, has announced a new cooperation with ChargePoint, one of the world’s largest network of EV charging stations in North America and Europe, to install ultra-rapid EV chargers at their West Drayton Fleet Hub.
Located near Heathrow Airport, the West Drayton Fleet Hub is a multipurpose centre servicing Addison Lee vehicles, rolling out driver training, and providing drivers with an ideal location to stop and take a break between journeys. The installation of two ChargePoint ultra-rapid EV chargers, with dual charging capability provides a guaranteed location for four drivers to charge their electric vehicles at once.
ChargePoint, who offer access to over 600,000 places to charge globally, will also provide software to allow Addison Lee partner drivers to see if the stations are currently in use, ensuring they don’t waste valuable time travelling to an unavailable charging point. The drivers will have access to thousands of chargers across London through the ChargePoint app.
With 1,000 EVs already on the fleet, the cooperation with ChargePoint is further supporting Addison Lee’s industry-leading pledge to electrify its fleet by 2023. On this journey to date, the firm has also provided drivers with support for home charging and has negotiated deals that provide its drivers with access to over 4,000 rapid chargers across London. The cooperation with ChargePoint will further allow fleet managers at Addison Lee to have complete control over their charging infrastructure as their needs grow.
Richard Holden MP, Minister for Roads and Local Transport said: “It’s great to see more cars – including private hire vehicles – go electric, alongside another boost to the UK’s charging network. Companies like Addison Lee and ChargePoint can play a vital role in the UK’s transition to cleaner vehicles while supporting economic growth, and we continue to work closely with industry on the path to all new cars being zero-emission by 2035.”
Liam Griffin, CEO of Addison Lee, said: “We’ve made great strides in transitioning our standard fleet to electric by 2023, recently hitting the milestone of 1,000 EVs on the fleet in just over 14 months. With access to reliable charging infrastructure still the main barrier for drivers switching to electric, we remain committed to investing in these innovative partnerships working together to tackle the ongoing infrastructure challenges across the capital.”
Once Addison Lee’s passenger car fleet is fully electric, it will save up to 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Tanya Sinclair, Senior Director of Public Policy, Europe at ChargePoint said: “We are delighted to further our work in supporting the electrification of road transport in London. Our cooperation with Addison Lee makes it easier for drivers to confidently locate, initiate and pay for charging, not only here in Heathrow, but throughout London and the UK using ChargePoint’s own stations and partner stations accessible via roaming. Inter network roaming must be encouraged at all levels if we are to enable fleets and commercial drivers to seamlessly transition to EV. This cooperation will not only help increase the electrification of transportation in London and the UK, but will help to improve air quality across the capital, whilst showing that it is not only possible, but easy for the UK’s largest fleet providers to electrify their operations at scale.”
