Accessible EV Charging: An EV Charger Is Only Useful if Everyone Can Use It
Aug
What DMUK’s 2,955-mile journey reveals about the infrastructure we are building and who risks being left behind.
We are asking people to embrace electric vehicles.
Governments are setting targets. Councils are installing chargers. Property owners are investing in EV infrastructure. Cities are planning for a lower-emissions future.
But what happens when a person with disability reaches a charger and cannot use it?
The cable may be too heavy. The controls may sit beyond reach. A kerb may block wheelchair access. An unauthorised vehicle may occupy the only suitable bay.
The charger exists, but access does not.
Disabled Motoring UK has documented this gap through lived experience.
In May 2026, my friend Anjna Patel MBE travelled almost 3,000 miles through England, France and Spain in a fully electric Volkswagen ID.4.
Anjna lives with severe rheumatoid arthritis. She understands the independence that private transport provides—and how quickly poor infrastructure can take that independence away.
With DMUK colleague Zoe Rush beside her, Anjna tested public EV charging as a disabled motorist navigating a real international journey.
Their findings deserve the attention of every council, parking operator, facilities manager and property owner planning EV infrastructure.
Accessible EV charging is not about whether a charger exists. It is about whether a person can find it, reach it, operate it and depend on it.
What did DMUK’s accessible EV road trip find?
Anjna and Zoe travelled 2,955 miles through three countries. They attempted to charge at 27 locations and completed 24 charging sessions across 18 charging companies.
DMUK assessed each location using criteria developed with reference to the Safer Parking Accessible EV Accreditation and PAS 1899:2022. No charger they assessed fully met the accessibility requirements used for the project.
That finding should make us pause.
The EV charging sector has grown during an era when governments, designers and property leaders understand inclusive design far better than previous generations did.
We are not retrofitting infrastructure built a century ago. We are building much of it now. We have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to get it right.
What makes EV charging inaccessible?
The DMUK report shows how several small barriers can combine into one impossible experience.
A heavy cable may require more grip and strength than a person has. Poor bay dimensions can prevent someone from opening a door fully or transferring safely from their vehicle.
Kerbs, bollards and wheel stops can interrupt the path between the car and charger. Screens, controls and payment terminals may sit too high or require movements that some people cannot make.
Digital systems create another layer of exclusion. An app may show that a charger is available even when the driver cannot access it. Confusing instructions or payment failures can leave someone stranded.
These barriers do more than create inconvenience. They limit independence.
A driver without accessibility requirements may move to another charger or use a standard bay. A wheelchair user may have no safe alternative. That difference matters.
Why does inaccessible charging increase range anxiety?
Most EV drivers understand range anxiety: the concern that their vehicle may run out of power before reaching a working charger.
A disabled driver may face an additional question:
Even if I reach the charger, will I be able to use it?
Anjna and Zoe had to consider charger reliability, bay dimensions, cable weight, controls, surrounding facilities and the possibility of needing assistance.
Their planning did not end when they found a charger on a map. They also needed alternatives in case the designated location became unusable.
This creates an additional cognitive and emotional burden. It can discourage people from choosing an EV or restrict the journeys they feel confident making.
If governments want more people to adopt electric vehicles, the transition must include people with disability from the beginning.
What does accessible EV charging require?
Accessible EV charging requires us to design the complete journey—not merely install compliant hardware.
The journey begins when someone enters the property. They need clear directions, an appropriate bay and enough space to exit their vehicle safely.
They need a level path to the charger, controls within reach and a cable they can manage. They also need accessible payment, reliable information, lighting, shelter and somewhere to obtain help.
A charger cannot compensate for a poorly designed bay. Good line marking cannot fix an unreachable screen. An accessible charger achieves little when another vehicle blocks the space.
Every component must work together.
Why is ICEing an accessibility issue?
ICEing occurs when an internal combustion engine vehicle occupies an EV charging bay. EV drivers can also misuse charging bays by remaining parked after charging has finished.
People often frame ICEing as poor parking etiquette. For a person with disability, it can become a complete denial of access.
An accessible bay usually provides features that a standard charging bay does not. It may offer additional width, a safer transfer area or a more suitable route to the charger.
When someone blocks that bay, the driver may not have another usable option.
The charger may be operational. Other bays may be vacant. Yet the person still cannot charge.
This is why facilities managers and parking operators need to consider availability as part of accessibility.
Can parking bollards help protect accessible EV bays?
A smartphone-controlled parking bollard can help protect a designated EV charging bay from unauthorised use.
The bollard creates a physical access control layer. It can remain raised until an authorised user or parking team lowers it through an approved process.
This approach can reduce ICEing, support bay reservations and give drivers greater confidence that an appropriate space will remain available.
A practical role—not a complete solution
A bollard cannot correct a narrow bay, heavy cable, inaccessible screen or poorly positioned charger. Asset owners must first design the charging environment around the person using it. The bollard’s role is simple: protect access to a bay that has already been designed properly.
What should Australian asset owners learn from DMUK?
DMUK conducted this journey across England, France and Spain, but its findings have direct relevance for Australia.
We are still building our public and private EV charging networks. Property owners, councils and operators can apply these lessons before inaccessible designs become embedded across thousands of sites.
Before approving a new charging installation, decision-makers should test the complete experience with people who have different mobility, strength, reach, vision and dexterity requirements.
They should also ask a simple question:
Can someone use this charger independently, safely and reliably—not only on the design plan, but in real life?
If the answer remains uncertain, the design is not finished.
We need to listen before we build
What stays with me about this project is the human reality behind the data.
Anjna did not examine EV accessibility from an office. She drove nearly 3,000 miles and experienced each charging environment as she found it.
Every difficult cable, blocked route and unusable interface added friction to a journey that already required careful planning.
Yet Anjna’s work also shows that long-distance EV travel is possible for disabled motorists. Better infrastructure can make that journey safer, simpler and more independent.
That is why DMUK’s research matters.
It gives councils, charge point operators, property owners and manufacturers practical evidence from someone who used the infrastructure—not someone who merely designed or approved it.
We should listen to that evidence while we still have the opportunity to shape the system.
Accessible EV charging cannot remain an optional feature added after installation. If the transition to electric vehicles excludes part of our community, it is not a successful transition.
