Transport for London (TfL) has selected Bolloré Group’s IER company to take over the management and operation of Source London, the capital’s electric vehicle charge point network and membership scheme.
The French organization, which will take over the scheme from summer 2014, will be responsible for all ‘back office’ functions including handling enquiries and membership registrations, from its UK offices. By working with new and existing Source London partners, IER aim to expand the charging network and provide a strong long-term commitment to EV drivers in London.
IER will be looking to expand the number of Source London charge points to 6,000 by 2018 to meet the growing needs of EV drivers. They aim to do this by working with existing partners to identify new charging locations or by attracting new partners to the scheme.
Source London was launched by the Mayor of London in May 2011 and is a consortium of over 60 public and private partners, led by TfL. London’s Mayor Boris Johnson pledged to introduce 1,300 EV change points across the capital by April 2013 – a target that was met, and represented almost a ten-fold infrastructure increase. Source London now numbers nearly 1,400 charge points across 300 sites including supermarkets, shopping centers, council and private car parks, hospitals and on the street.
In addition, the Boris Johnson announced his intention to create the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London from 2020, which would provide a major incentive for the mass take-up of zero and low emission vehicles.
IER has extensive experience of implementing and operating EV schemes based on its role in delivering the Paris Autolib which was launched in 2011. It currently has over 30,000 active subscribers making between 6,000 and 10,000 car journeys each day. Autolib will be profitable in the third quarter of this year, according to Bolloré, while initial predictions estimate Source London will be profitable in six to seven years.
TfL will now work closely with IER to ensure a smooth transition to the new operator for Source London partners and the scheme’s 1,000 members who will be kept informed throughout the process.
