Electric Car Chargers Unused

Half of Fife's electric vehicle charging points have not been used once, according to figures.

The statistics, obtained by the RAC Foundation, found 50% of the Kingdom's sockets had been used at least once.

However, they also showed a wide variation across Scotland, with all chargers in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Stirling used, compared to no usage in East Dunbartonshire.

The statistics, obtained by the RAC Foundation under freedom of information laws, provide a snapshot of charging activity at 885 sockets at 482 charging points last August.

There was a near five-fold increase in charging activity compared to August 2013, but information about the number of chargers in use then was not provided.

The motoring group said there are some 1,100 electric cars and vans in Scotland – up from around 200 two years ago.

The figures cover the ChargePlace Scotland network, part of which is open only to local ­authority or company vehicles.

The busiest charging point was at Janet Brougham House, a care home in Dundee, which was used 103 times.

The next most popular location was the Scottish Government offices at Victoria Quay in Leith. Chargers were used 80 times. In third place was the ­Ingliston park and ride near ­Edinburgh Airport, with 61.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said:

"The encouraging news is that electric car sales in the UK are at last showing signs of improvement, but we still have a charging network in Scotland that is running below capacity.

"Part of the reason for installing public charge points is to help drivers overcome their fear of range anxiety but this does not come cheap.

"This data also suggests a good proportion of charge points are located on private premises including council sites. This is encouraging as it was always envisaged that fleet operators would lead the way in the electric revolution.

"Ultimately we hope our analysis will give an indication of where further money should be spent and where extra infrastructure might be needed."