BROMSGROVE electric car users struggle to charge their cars due to what they say are limited and unusable charging points.
Drivers claim apps can be faulty, and payment methods are lengthy and sometimes do not work.
Emmanuel Passaris, who started up the first electric car taxi service in Bromsgrove, said it definitely affected his business.
He added: “It is a stress when I run low, and I cannot accept work and need to decline journeys.”
He had to overcome the issue by buying a new electric car which could manage more miles with less electricity.
The council’s plan to install 13 rapid charging points is currently under way, with nine in action and a further four to be installed.
Still, electric car users have told The Standard there needs to be more, especially on the GeniePoint Network.
Michael Coleman uses the GeniePoint Network for the discount provided but previously spent over an hour looking for an available charging point.
He had to purchase a £200 electric lead for emergency measures to come out of his house window, but rising energy costs could make this no longer feasible.
A Bromsgrove District Council spokesperson said: “We had a meeting with our contract manager last week after receiving a few complaints that the chargers were not working correctly.
“We have been assured there are no major network issues and that any downtime is intermittent, but this is being looked into and will be monitored on an ongoing basis.
“We are aware there are chargers on other, privately owned and run sites which have been having significant issues recently, but these unfortunately fall outside of our remit, and it would be up to the private owner to fix this.”
In terms of available chargers per 100,000 people, the council said it fitted above national averages, particularly in rapid chargers.
It is currently planning to install a fast charger network around the district and hope the project will be completed before Christmas.
Engineers are booked to assess the council’s nine chargers next week.
