UK Charging Provider Criticizes "Absurd" Highway Rules; Cost of Two Signs Could Reach £150,000

Recently, InstaVolt, a leading UK electric vehicle (EV) charging service provider, publicly criticized the country's relevant highway management regulations as "absurd". The reason is that the company was told that the cost of installing two signs on the highway to identify its rapid charging station could be as high as £150,000, a prohibitive cost for the company.

It is understood that InstaVolt has been negotiating with National Highways for nine months on the installation of main road signs to identify the location of its largest group of rapid charging stations. Located near Winchester, this charging station is the largest rapid charging station in the UK, equipped with 44 charging ports, which can provide fast charging services for a large number of electric vehicles. However, it currently lacks effective road signs, making it difficult for passing vehicles to quickly identify its location

InstaVolt revealed that National Highways informed it that installing two signs at a junction on the A34 near Winchester would cost between £100,000 and £150,000. In response, relevant officials explained that the installation work requires supporting measures such as conducting an environmental impact assessment and implementing road closures, all of which will incur corresponding costs, thereby pushing up the overall expense.

In fact, InstaVolt had previously tried other ways to solve the sign problem - erecting its own temporary signs at a nearby roundabout, but the signs were required to be removed by the municipal authorities and failed to achieve the guiding effect. To break through this dilemma, the company once proposed a creative solution: building a 200-foot-high "fake" wind turbine to promote its charging services to passing vehicles. However, this proposal aroused strong dissatisfaction among local residents, who compared it to the bustling scene of Las Vegas and opposed the implementation of the plan.

In addition to the high cost and installation obstacles of highway signs, InstaVolt also faces other difficulties in setting up signs. It is reported that in a region in southern England, the local municipal authority told the company that if it wants to install a small sign the size of an A4 paper on a lamppost, it must first complete a strength test, which further increases the difficulty and cost of sign installation.

Delvin Lane, head of InstaVolt, stated that these numerous obstacles and delays in the sign installation process highlight the many difficulties faced by EV charging facility providers in setting up road signs. At the same time, British government officials have been actively urging the public to switch to electric vehicles, creating a sharp contrast between this policy orientation and the obstacles in actual implementation.

"To be honest, some things are simply unimaginable and impossible to happen," Delvin Lane admitted. "This is the situation we are facing. We have restricted ourselves to the point of doing absolutely nothing." He added that it was originally agreed by both parties that the Winchester charging station would be the first to have dedicated signs on the strategic road network, but so far, this process has been delayed for nine months, and the relevant signs have not yet been put in place.

Delvin Lane further stated that InstaVolt had previously purchased and installed totem-style signs for less than £20,000, so he could not understand why National Highways would give such a high cost estimate for an ordinary charging station sign. "This is crazy - we will never blindly pay more than £1 million for this," he added, pointing out that at this cost standard, the total cost of installing signs for all 100 of the company's motorway service area charging stations would reach £10 million. "We are not trying to play tricks here," he emphasized. "It's just an ordinary road sign that says 'Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities'."

In response to InstaVolt's doubts, a spokesperson for National Highways said that they "do not recognize" the cost estimate put forward by the company. At the same time, the spokesperson explained that the cost of sign installation does not simply refer to the signs themselves, but may also include expenditures on multiple links such as measures to ensure the safety of road users and staff, equipment installation fees, design fees, survey fees, planning permission fees, traffic management fees, and assessments of "surrounding environmental characteristics".

It is worth noting that although many electric vehicles are currently equipped with built-in navigation systems that can help drivers plan routes based on the location of charging stations, the lack of clear signs on major roads is still regarded as a major obstacle to solving EV "range anxiety". It is reported that "range anxiety" refers to consumers' worry that the battery of an electric vehicle will run out and they will not be able to reach a charging station. Clear road signs can effectively alleviate this anxiety and help promote the popularization of electric vehicles. At present, the industry is closely watching the negotiation progress between InstaVolt and relevant departments, hoping that both parties can reach a consensus, solve the sign installation problem, and promote the improvement of the service efficiency of charging infrastructure.