The first site in a planned network of 88 electric vehicle rapid chargepoints has gone live in West Yorkshire, under a £3m-plus investment scheme for the area.
New locations will be added every week and each of the new sites will be free to use until the end of October 2021.
The sites will each have two bays, one exclusively for taxis and private hire vehicles and the other for all other users.
People can register to use the network online at ev.engie.co.uk where they can also locate their nearest West Yorkshire chargepoint and find updates on the opening of new bays.
The scheme is a collaboration between West Yorkshire Combined Authority and its partner local authorities - Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield councils - following its successful bid for £2m funding from the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).
The combined authority and the partnering local authorities are also providing a further £1.2m.
Leeds-based ENGIE was appointed to install, own and operate the new charging points.
Cllr Manisha Kaushik, deputy chair of the combined authority Transport Committee said: 'Around 500 diesel taxis and private hire cars are forecast to be converted to hybrid and pure electric vehicles as a result of us rolling out these chargepoints.
'Plus, the increased availability of rapid chargepoint locations will help counter ‘range anxiety’, which is currently discouraging people from switching to electric vehicles.
'Just recently West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership launched the Leeds City Region Climate Coalition as part of our commitment to tackle the global climate emergency. This scheme is an important step towards achieving our aims.'
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