Electric Vehicles
Maidstone Borough Council are committed to facilitating a carbon neutral future and have rolled out our first phase of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging units to enable residents and visitors to have access to charging in core town locations.
Pod Point Charge units can be found in the following locations:
| Location | Number of bays | Cost | Speed | Maximum Stay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Street | 2 | See Parking Tariff | 7kWh | 4 Hours |
| Medway Street | 2 | See Parking Tariff | 7kWh | 4 Hours |
| Union Street | 2 | See Parking Tariff | 7kWh | 4 Hours |
| Barker Road | 4 | See Parking Tariff | 7kWh | 4 Hours |
| Wheeler Street | 4 | See Parking Tariff | 7kWh | 4 Hours |
| Mote Road | 4 | See Parking Tariff | 7kWh | 4 Hours |
Using Our Chargers
- To use our EV charge points, customers must download the Pod Point smartphone app available on both Apple and Android devices.
- Users must select their location and activate their charging session from the app.
- From 1 April 2021 the charging fee is only for electricity used.
- Therefore, customers DO NOT need to purchase a separate parking session from a pay unit or RingGo.
LED (Light) Colour Guide
Units use colour LEDs (lights) to indicate the status of the device. A full guide of what each colour means can be found below:
| LED Colour | Description |
|---|---|
| White | Trying to get signal (can take up to 1 minute) |
| Magenta/Purple-Red | Establishing communication with server |
| Blue/Magenta Flashing | Communication established - car not plugged in |
| Blue/Magenta Flashing | Unlock Mode |
| Flashing Green | Standby |
| Green | Charging |
| Red/ Red Flashing | Machine Fault* |
*Please contact APCOA on 01622 751457.
Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)
With effect from 1 April 2021, all Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) can park for free within any of the Council’s pay and display car parks.
This concession only applies to Battery Electric Vehicles identified through the RingGo App. This does not include any other vehicles such as hybrid.
In order to make use of this concession, battery electric vehicle owners will need to register their car using the RingGo Smartphone App so it can be identified and not be charged for parking.
All Maidstone Borough Council car parks have the facility to pay for parking via the RingGo smartphone app or by phone, which speeds up the transaction process and allows drivers to opt for a reminder text before expiry.
Parking
Vehicles identified as BEVs through the RingGo App will be offered free parking up to the maximum stay of the car park (i.e. 4 hours maximum in a short stay car park).
Once the parking session is registered with RingGo, BEVs can park for free in any regular parking bay.
BEV drivers may not park in a disabled bay, unless they are also displaying a blue badge.
BEV drivers may not park in an EV charging bay, unless they are actively charging.
Charging
BEV drivers may use the EV charging bays to charge in the normal way.
All drivers using the EV charges will, of course, be charged for electricity when charging the vehicle.
Penalty Charge Notices
To ensure EV bays are used for charging only, penalty charge notices will be issued for the following contraventions:
- Parking without charging
- Staying longer than the maximum stay of the car park
- Parking outside of bay markings