City’s accommodation tops national survey for vehicle charging points.
Milton Keynes’ drive to become greener and more environmentally friendly has received a boost after topping the charts in a new survey of the number of UK hotels offering electric car charging to visitors.
The city has been found to have the highest ratio in Britain of hotels with electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the study, by online car platform Auto Trader. Its analysis reveals which cities offer the most hotels with electric plug-in points, in relation to the overall number of hotels in the city.
Of MK’s 62 hotels monitored, 13 of them featured EV car charging to give the city a 21% ratio. Carlisle came second in the research’s UK rankings, with 18% of its hotels offering electric charging, and Derby came third with 17%.
MK’s ranking puts it on a par with global cities such as Ottawa, in Canada (21%), Munich, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland (both 22%) and even Washington DC in the US (23%).
The relationship between hotel guests and electric cars has been widely reported in the hospitality sector, with recent research showing that nearly 20% of hotel guests require EV charging stations, indicating a strong overlap between electric car drivers and hotel patrons.
Online search behaviour over the last year shows the appetite for electric chargers from guests isn’t slowing down: searches for ‘hotels that have electric car charging stations’ are up 200% year-on-year.
“In total, this southern English city has over 800 electric car charging stations, with the majority of those being rapid charging points,” says the Auto Trader survey. “Milton Keynes’ council has invested in meeting the demand and needs of EV drivers, with plans to maintain and improve its impressive EV charging infrastructure.
“With double the expected number of visitors for a city of its size, Milton Keynes is one of the most accommodating destinations for environmentally conscious business and leisure visitors.
“Being able to charge your vehicle overnight while you enjoy a stay at a hotel can be a massive booking motivator for potential guests, helping relieve their range anxiety (worry of running low on power) and making their visit to a city much easier and relaxing.”
The table-topping news was welcomed by Milton Keynes City Council.
“The city council is putting the infrastructure in place to help people feel more confident in making the switch to more sustainable transport,” said Cllr Akash Nayee, Cabinet Member for Public Realm.
“Electric cars already make up 16% of all vehicles across the city, with this set to rise to 30% by 2030. We’re proud to be laying the groundwork for a more sustainable, greener future in MK.”
