This briefing covers three areas:

1. The change to management and maintenance of the bollard chargers from New Motion to Franklin
2. The installation of four bollard chargers on a new ‘build-out’ island solution to replace the Zeta chargers
3. The extension of the second phase of the project which will see the roll out of up to 100 chargers.

You may have seen the press release on 23 March 2021 regarding the further upgrades to improve the reliability of chargers for trial participants and members of the public.

In earlier briefings this year we updated you on the news that we have upgraded the estate and, as a result, have opened up the trial’s electric vehicle lamppost chargers to public use.

We will now add 13 bollard chargers to the pay as you go (PAYG) model so all of the Phase 1 designated resident chargers will be available for public use. This is made possible owing to the move to a new Network Operator, Franklin EV.

Charging infrastructure upgrades

Franklin EV will take on the maintenance and operation of all Go Ultra Low Oxford bollard chargers for residents and car club bays across the city from New Motion.

The transition will take place over the 31 March and 1 April 2021.

We expect the transition to be smooth, as all parties have been collaborating to ensure all processes are covered. However, we strongly recommended that your car is suitably charged should there be an overnight gap in service during the transition. Additionally we recommend that you do not leave your car plugged in on the transition night as your vehicle may not get the charge you had anticipated.

Franklin will offer a preferential charging rate for Oxford residents and car clubs during the transition period.

Franklin will also enable current New Motion users to continue to use their New Motion cards during the operator transition. This will give you time to download their App, and set up a new account using Franklin, should you wish to take up the preferential rate.

Should you experience any difficulties please contact Franklin’s Operations Manager, Harry Petch in the first instance;

Harry.petch@franklinenergy.co.uk

Phone 01518-321722

Table showing Charge points under Franklin Energy Management from 31 March 2021

Location	No. of sockets	Charge point type	kWh cost	Used by
Juxon Street OX2 6DR	2	Ensto Chago Pro	7.4 kWh	Car club
Vicarage Close OX4 4PL	2	Ensto Chago Pro	7.4 kWh	Residents /shared with Car Club
Stockmore Street OX4 1JT	2	APT Evolve	7 kWh	Residents
Sandfield Road OX3 7RQ	2	Ensto Chago Pro	7.4 kWh	Car Club
Kineton Road OX1 4PG	2	APT Evolve	7 kWh	Residents/ shared with Car Club
Lake Street OX1 4RR	2	APT Evolve	7 kWh	Residents
Bedford Street OX4 1SU	1	APT Evolve	7 kWh	Car club and residents
Frenchay Road OX2 6TG	2	Ensto Chago Pro	7.4 kWh	Residents

Charge Point replacements on Build outs

Four existing slim-line charge points will be replaced by new models, also operated by Franklin Energy. The affected charge points were prototypes and are not viable to be used in the long term. The new model, ENSTO EVF200W, is well proven in the market to provide reliable service.

The new chargers are dual sockets, so we are increasing the charging capacity at all but one affected sites:

1. Wytham Street – Will provide a dual socket charger serving a dedicated car club bay and a standard parking bay
2. Southfield Road – Will provide a dual socket charger serving an car club bay and an a dedicated EV charging bay
3. Stone Street – Will provide a dual socket charger serving a dedicated car club bay and a standard parking bay
4. West Street – A new charger serving a single resident parking bay

The four charging points will be installed on islands build out into the parking space, allowing us to increase charging facilities by 40%.

The build-outs have been designed based of the feedback from the trial and will ensure better access to the pavements for residents, while protecting the chargers from vehicle strikes.

In order to accommodate the updated charging points, parking and EV charging bays on these streets will be reconfigured, however the level of parking on these streets will not change. Residents in the streets affected were consulted on the plans as part of a traffic regulation order (TRO) consultation earlier this year.

Installation of the chargers will take place in April and aims to be completed by May 2021. The table below suggests alternative charging locations while during the replacement window. We will inform you about the precise dates in more detail closer to the time.

Possible alternative chargers and locations for residents for use during installation works are set out below. Please familiarise yourselves with your intended alternative charger prior to the transition to ensure you can charge from it.  

Table showing possible alternative chargers and locations for residents for use during installation works

Affected location	Alternative location	Charger Type	Payment method
Wytham Street	Lake Street OX1 4RR Abingdon Road, Ox1 4XG	ATP GULO charger PB Pulse charger	Franklin energy LiFe App £1.20 connection fee, then free to use
Southfield Road	Stockmore Street OX1 4JT Hertford St OX4 1RJ	ATP GULO charger 5.5kW Lamppost	Franklin energy LiFe App PAYG QR code 24p kWh
Stone Street	Stockmore Street OX1 4JT Hertford St OX4 1RJ	ATP GULO charger 5.5kW Lamppost	Franklin energy LiFe App PAYG QR code 24p kWh
West Street	Alexandra Road, OX1 2DD	5.5kW Lamppost	PAYG QR code 24p kWh

Take part in the project

The next phase of the project will see up to 100 further chargers installed across the city for residents without off-street parking.

Residents who would like their street to be considered for an electric charging point in phase two of the project can express their interest via the Oxford City Council EV On-street Charging demand tracker. 

About Go Ultra Low Oxford

Go Ultra Low Oxford promotes electric vehicle charging solutions for Oxford residents who are considering buying an electric vehicle but do not have off-street parking.

The project was established as one of the first on-street charging pilots in the world.

The project, which first started in 2017 trialled five different charging technologies for 24 residents and car clubs across Oxford, has been described by the University of Oxford as having “global scientific significance”.

The first phase of the project, which took place from July 2017 - June 2019, saw 46 charge-points installed across 28 locations, and the use of 10 electric Co-Wheels car club vehicles.

The Council is now working on preparations for phase two of the project, which will see which will see the project size increase by up to 100 chargers. Preparation work for this has included opening up the trial’s electric vehicle chargers to public use, and will also include an evaluation of possible sites for future electric vehicle charging technology.

The project has been made possible after the City Council secured an £800,000 grant from the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), and is delivered in partnership with the County Council.

In Oxford there are around 108 charging points available public to use. The City Council has delivered nearly a third of the available chargers in the city.

Other relevant projects

Oxford GUL-E: ODS, Oxford City’s Local Authority Trading Company (LATCO), is about to complete a project delivered through a UK Innovate grant to collaborate with Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), to develop the cable gulley solution to market readiness, and we are working with the partners to bring this solution to the city as a component of phase 2 of GULO. See the ODS website for details. 

Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO): Redbridge Park & Ride, to the south of the city, will be home to one of the UK’s largest public EV charging hubs, with up to 50 charging bays offering a range of charging speeds, from a few minutes to a few hours. This flagship site will help more people to drive electric, supporting the Council’s planned Zero Emission Zone, which will be piloted from August 2021. As part of this project we are also installing a further 9 AC chargers with our partners in Seacourt P&R from the end of the Summer 2021. These will be available for overnight charging. See the Oxford Energy Superhub website for details.

T-GULO (Go Ultra Low Oxford Taxi): We are exploring to provide immediate temporary access to the general public to our taxi rapid chargers in Manzil Way Gardens (with additional installations planned over the next quarter in Keble Rd, Headington Car Park, Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre and more).