How to solve hogging and ICEing issues at EV charging stations in the UK

The United Kingdom has seen a significant increase in electric vehicle (EV) ownership over the last few years, with over 500,000 registered vehicles as of July 2022. As more EVs hit the road, there has been an increase in hogging and ICEing at public charging stations—and this trend is expected to continue as more people purchase electric vehicles.

Why is this a rising issue in the UK?

Aside from London, the number of EV chargers in the UK is rather low in comparison to the number of electric vehicles. According to Zap Map data from 2022, the Greater London area possesses one-third of the total number of EV chargers in the UK. However, drivers outside London who need to charge their vehicles often complain about unavailable chargers, sometimes waiting even up to a day and a half to charge the car!

The problem stems from a lack of regulation surrounding EV charging stations. There are currently no legal standards for how long an EV can park at a charger before they need to move on, which means that some drivers choose to sit and wait while they charge their car—or they leave their car on charge all day long so they can take advantage of free parking at some locations. These drivers are taking up space intended for other drivers who want to use the chargers but can’t because someone else has taken them over for their own purposes.

Besides "hogging," EV charging stations have to deal with “ICErs” as well—these drivers take an EV charging space just to park their car, without using the charger.

So what is the solution?

The good news is that there are ways for businesses to prevent this from happening—and there are also ways for drivers who want to use a public charging station to avoid getting stuck waiting around while all the charging points are taken.

There are several solutions that could eliminate or prevent possible parking issues at the EV charging stations:

• Use a smart charging system. This is simply a system that allows you to control which vehicles can charge at what times based on their license plate numbers or other identifying information. The best part is that smart charging systems are relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

• Use a parking enforcement system. If your parking lot doesn't already have an existing parking enforcement system in place, it might be worth investing in one so that people who park in the wrong spot will get ticketed (or towed).
• Use a charging station management system. This type of software allows you to track how much electricity each vehicle has used as well as where they parked before leaving their vehicle behind for too long without charging it up again first!
• Protect individual EV charging spaces with smart parking protection so there is no possibility of unauthorized parking. This way, users will have the option of making a reservation prior to arriving at the charging point and will get a digital key to unlock the parking barrier via a smartphone app.

This is a chance for the UK to set an example for other countries by demonstrating that it recognizes the changing demands of its EV drivers. Finally, I hope that sharing my opinions and thoughts on this topic may help you find a good method to deal with these issues in your own location. Preventing these issues with EV charging stations is essential, especially as the use of low-emission vehicles grows on a local and global level. After all, EVs are here to stay, so it's time to work together to find practical solutions that can meet everyone's needs.

This is a guest post written by: Melani Grubic Mikulic, Content Marketing Manager @ Parklio 

melani.grubic@parklio.com