Case Study
Promoting EV adoption through improved charge point user experiences
Accelogress Limited and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM)
Customer:
UK
Country:
Urban Data Exchange (UDX) real-time data sharing platform
UDC Solution:
TfWM is a customer experience orientated organisation and has been working with Accelogress to adopt their Save-a-Space parking reservation platform to improve the parking experience at train station Park and Ride car parks. As part of a wider £5bn strategic transport infrastructure project, TfWM wanted to further encourage the public’s uptake and transition from fossil fuel vehicles to EVs. To ensure the best user experience and plan-ability for their users, and to maximise utilisation of their existing and future EV charge point infrastructure, uncertainty for EV drivers surrounding the availability and reliability of their public EV charge point network needed to be resolved.
The Challenge
Under the project lead of app developers Accelogress, deployment of our core UDX real-time data sharing platform has enabled harmonisation and integration of multiple data sources from EV charge points and parking sensors through a single API that is also scalable across different locations and sensor technologies.
The Solution
The simplification of infrastructure operations and costs, combined with better and more efficient enforcement, promises significant improvements in the publics’ experience of - and confidence in – TfWM’s charge point network. Moreover, EV users will be able to access real-time information about charge point locations and availability via the Save-a-Space EV charge point reservations app before their journey, en-route and on-site.
Benefits
As an executive body of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) has overall responsibility for transport infrastructure and strategy in this densely populated UK region. With the ultimate aim being the creation of a world-class road and rail transportation system, TfWM is in the middle of a £5bn project to significantly improve transport infrastructure by 2026.
As operators of a rapidly growing network of EV charge points at park and ride (P+R) locations throughout the region, encouraging and optimising their use, and in turn increasing overall EV uptake, was a key part of the wider TfWM project goals. In getting the EV user experience right, several challenges needed to be addressed regarding charge point availability: for example, is the charge point temporarily out of order, or is it being blocked by a fossil fuel vehicle or another EV that isn’t charging? With data on charge point availability previously only accessible when an EV is connected, it was difficult for other EV users to know for sure whether a particular space would really be available. In addition to being inefficient and frustrating, these uncertainties were also contributing to the wider ‘range anxiety’ commonly experienced by many EV users and often cited as the main reason for not switching to an EV.
“The UDX platform provided an easy and reliable way to connect to various sensor data streams for parking occupancy, vehicle identification and EV charge point status in a standardised format for Accelogress to provide their value add.”
Ralf Kernchen / Founder and CEO of Accelogress Limited
As well as accurately detecting charge point occupancy, TfWM also wanted to be able to monitor and resolve overstays and unauthorised occupancy events and be able to provide EV users with this information in advance of their journeys or en-route. To enable this, in conjunction with Accelogress, a P+R charge point advanced reservation scheme – Reserve & Charge – was established.
Leveraging recent innovations in smart parking and EV charge point technology, real-time data sensor data aggregated by the UDX platform enabled Accelogress to easily harness the data to provide an accurate and up to date view of occupancy and use. Parking sensors can also detect user registration events and allows Accelogress on behalf of customers TfWM to validate individual charge point reservations against arrivals and usage via a Bluetooth tag or phone app.
In selecting our UDX data exchange platform at the core of providing the real-time data streams for the Reserve & Charge proposition, TfWM and Urban Data Collective have worked closely with technology partners Accelogress in developing a new platform that optimises and simplifies the handling of real-time data. This has enabled:
Integration of a single, harmonised real-time data API
An easy data pathway, scalable to different locations where systems and owners may vary
Simplified infrastructure operations and improved and more efficient enforcement capabilities
Big improvements in user confidence and satisfaction with the TfWM public EV charge network
“UDX provided a solution to onboard new sensor data streams seamlessly and allowed Accelogress to fully concentrate on developing the new Reserve & Charge experience. Time and effort saved was translated into created a more complete and reliable user experience and achieved a shorter project turnaround time for TfWM.”
Ralf Kernchen / Founder and CEO of Accelogress Limited
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