Taunton park-and-ride gets electric car charging points

Jim Duncan from Reaction Electric said this was an initiative unique to the South West

Electric car charging points have been installed at the Henlade park-and-ride site in Taunton.

The chargers, which cost £30,000 to install, are free to use.

Mark Green from Project Taunton said the new charging points will be useful, even if they are not well used at first.

It is hoped it will lead to more people taking up the technology but Jim Holder, editor of What Car magazine, said they were unlikely to be used.

Mr Holder said: "The economic reality is that electric cars at the moment probably won't pay for many people unless they are used extensively.

"They are a niche product but obviously you have to start somewhere and this process is about filling those niches and then trying to expand their use beyond that."

Mr Green said: "It's really genuinely about encouraging people to think about the options that are available to them and thinking that there are options around for electric cars and motorbikes, and we want people to use them because we think it's the right thing to do."

The project, a Somerset-led initiative between Project Taunton and Reaction Electric, was funded by a government grant.

Jim Duncan, the managing director of Reaction Electric, said it was the first park and ride outside of major cities to have electric chargers installed.