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This technical advice note is provided to help highway planning teams identify opportunities to support the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) public charging infrastructure during state highway development programmes.

Background

In May 2016, the Government set a target to increase New Zealand’s electric vehicle fleet to 64,000 by the end of 2021, to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The cross agency electric vehicles programme aims to increase the uptake of electric vehicles by addressing barriers that have prevented households and businesses from choosing electric.

Barriers preventing the uptake of EV’s

One of these barriers is 'range anxiety' – a driver’s fear that they’ll be unable to get to their destination before their vehicle’s battery power runs out.

One way to combat range anxiety is to develop a network of electric vehicle public charging stations, which would give drivers the confidence to move freely around New Zealand’s state highways and local roads.

Agency involvement

The Government’s preference is for the private sector to set up and operate a public charging station network; and the NZ Transport Agency has been directed to encourage and support this investment. The NZ Transport Agency has developed and published a vision for nationwide coverage of public charging stations along priority highways and, along with a public/private sector group, has developed public charging infrastructure guidance and information: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/planning-and-investment/planning/planning-for-electric-vehicles/national-guidance-for-public-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure/.

The Transport Agency is also making suitable parcels of land along the state highways available to private investors, and is now looking for opportunities to support the deployment of public charging infrastructure as part of the state highway development programme.

Deploying electric vehicle public charging infrastructure will help the Transport Agency to achieve safety objectives by:

• using locations that encourage drivers to take breaks on longer journey and
• ensuring sites leased or licensed from the Transport Agency have safe access and layouts.

The Agency can support the deployment of electric vehicle public charging infrastructure by:

• aiding and encouraging investment in infrastructure that aligns to the Transport Agency’s public charging infrastructure guidance and recommendations
• ensuring that barriers are not placed in front of investors wanting to set up public charging infrastructure at strategic locations
• prioritising developments that align with state highways most widely used, as per the One Network Road Classification hierarchy and
• identifying Transport Agency land with the greatest potential:
  • higher potential visitor numbers
  • connecting journeys between major centres and locations and
  • filling gaps in the national public charging infrastructure network, and in particular locations that may have a lower economic return.

The most effective investments will be where there are opportunities for other activities such as rest, food or retail facilities.