Public Charging
There are 85,000 public chargepoints in the UK, and counting. They are on our streets, in supermarket car parks, council car parks, service stations and dedicated hubs. Costs vary depending on location, supplier, and power. The lowest-power charging tends to be around 50p/kWh, where as high-power charging can be as much as 80p/kWh.
At EVinfrastructure.co.uk, we are developing mapping and statistics to analyse chargepoints near you using the open data part of the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023. In the meantime, Zapmap is the recognised market leader in tracking public chargers, and the DfT obtain data from them.
This section of the website contains further details about how the public charging market works on this page, and specific pages on public charging tariffs, regulations on public chargepoints, and the PAS 1899 standard which gives best practice for making chargepoints accessible. It also includes a page on Community charging, also known as peer-to-peer or shared charging.
For information on what the government is doing to promote public chargepoints, please see our government funding public chargepoints page.
The chargepoint operator market
Public chargepoints are run by chargepoint operators (CPOs), which are analogous to filling station companies. However, the chargepoint operator market is spread much more thinly across numerous suppliers as it continues to expand. It is highly likely there will be consolidation in future.
As of September 2025, Shell Recharge-Ubitricity have the biggest share of public charging devices, followed by Connected Kerb, Pod, and char.gy.
Some CPOs are organisations dedicated to EV charging, while others are subsidiaries of well-known firms in energy or infrastructure. Some have received capital from the taxpayer. Some have a bigger presence overseas, while others are based in the UK. Some manufacture their own hardware, while others buy generic hardware such as Alfen public chargers and then customise them in their brand colours.
Government funding of chargepoints
The government funds public chargepoints, while local authorities manage tenders for them and have a large influence on siting.
For more information, please see our government funding public chargepoints page.
Types of public charging
NEVIS have broken down charging into four categories: Near Home Charging, Commercial Charging, Destination Charging, and Journey Charging.
The distinction between the types is important because the most important features of a chargepoint depend on its use. For near-home charging, distance to home and tariff are the most important factors, whereas high power is much more important for journey charging. Some CPOs specialise in a certain type of charging.
Near home charging
Near home public charging is usually seen as a substitute for home charging where home charging is not possible.
The important features of near home charging are tariff, because drivers will charge through this method as standard. The need for low tariffs and the amount of time that cars spend idle near drivers' homes mean that near home charging is generally low power - 7kW at pedestal chargers or lower at lampposts.
Journey charging
Journey charging is the 21st century equivalent of changing horses. If you are travelling a long distance and your car can't go all the way, then you must stop and fill your battery en route.
The key feature for journey charging is power, because most people are more concerned with getting back on the road than with the price they pay for infrequent mid-journey charges.
Destination charging
Destination charging is an opportunity to charge in the background whilst you are busy with work or leisure away from home.
Price, power and convenience are important features of destination charging. If it's too expensive then you might not bother. If it's too low power then you might not get much juice from a two- or three-hour stint. If you have to go out of your way from where you would normally park, then the destination charging is less convenient.
Supermarkets, train stations, shopping centres, leisure centres and office complexes are all examples of places you might see a destination chargepoint.
Commercial charging
Commercial charging occurs when vehicles in professional use need to top up.
Most commercial charging does not take place at public chargepoints. Often, the organisation running the vehicles will install chargers in their own depots and require drivers to come to their base or another convenient depot. However, professional drivers such as Uber drivers in London may charge at public stations, and Uber have a deal with chargepoint operator BP Pulse to ensure their drivers get lower tariffs.
Power is often more important than tariff for daytime top-ups to ensure drivers don't lose too much time charging. However, when charging out of hours, tariffs are more important.