Disabled drivers at risk of being left behind due to inaccessible EV charging, research finds
Recent research has found that no public chargers in the UK adhere to official accessibility standards, causing a lack of confidence among disabled drivers...
As many as two million disabled drivers in the UK are at risk of being left behind due to a lack of accessible EV chargers, a recent report has found.
According to research by independent watchdog Transport Focus, no public chargers on England’s motorways or major ‘A’ roads officially adhere to the standards outlined for accessible charging.
Guidelines for these standards were introduced in 2022 by the British Standards Institution (BSI), but they are not a compulsory requirement for chargepoints to be installed. As a result, electric car drivers face a number of barriers that prevent them from using these chargers, such as small bays that make it difficult to manoeuvre around their vehicle, raised kerbs, bollards or plinths obstructing chargepoints and poor access to other motorway service facilities.
The report also found that heavy cables can be a significant obstacle for wheelchair users and drivers with limited upper body strength, including older users, while the unreliable nature of a lot of chargers and lack of on-site assistance can be particularly challenging for neurodivergent drivers too.
These obstacles mean that disabled drivers have, on average, much less confidence in switching to an EV. Research published in September 2025 by Motability – a scheme that provides accessible mobility solutions for people with disabilities – found that just 28% of its customers would consider an EV for their next vehicle, compared with 45% of the general public.
Graham Footer, Chief Executive of Disabled Motoring UK, said, “We are expecting disabled people to transition to, and use, EVs without a charging infrastructure that supports them. We need a robust plan that meets users’ needs and gives them the confidence to travel in their EV. A clearer framework, supported by regulation, would help chargepoint providers prioritise accessibility.”
The optional guidelines set out by the BSI outline solutions for many of the difficulties faced by disabled EV drivers. However, despite providers being encouraged to adopt these solutions where possible, there aren’t any chargepoints that are audited and approved in line with the standards. Transport Focus puts this down to a lack of understanding and awareness, but also to issues sourcing devices and difficulties building business cases that support change where the standards are not mandatory.
While there is Government investment behind increasing the number of public chargers on UK roads, there are currently no known targets for improving the number of accessible charging bays, the report found.
As a result, the report calls on the Government to focus on delivering an accessible EV charger network, by allocating sufficient resources to chargepoint providers and setting out targets to improve accessibility in the future. It also calls for a set of mandatory regulations to be made and subsequently monitored as soon as possible, with a requirement that every motorway or ‘A’ road service area should provide a minimum number of accessible chargepoints.
Louise Collins, Director of Transport Focus, said, “Disabled motorists should be able to feel secure in the knowledge that they can easily charge their electric vehicle independently on the country’s motorway network. If we don’t tackle this swiftly then some disabled people could be left behind, unable to drive electric vehicles and potentially excluded from the road network altogether.
“The time to act is now and we need confidence that there is a plan that will genuinely deliver this. We are working with Government to explore the role regulation could play in a longer-term solution with mandatory standards and for chargepoint providers to deliver more immediate improvements.”
Disabled drivers’ lack of confidence in transitioning to an electric vehicle poses a clear obstacle in reaching Government targets. Under the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, electric cars should account for 28% of the UK new car market in 2025, though current figures continue to lag behind.
In May, What Car? published its EV manifesto, citing nine challenges which must be addressed to aid the transition to electric vehicles and improve accessibility for all drivers. However, it’s clear that more needs to be done to ensure that disabled drivers are taken into careful consideration when it comes to improving the UK’s EV charging network.
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