Osprey and Motability to trial accessibility of public charging for disabled people

Osprey Charging, one of the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging networks, has been selected by Motability Operations, the UK’s largest leasing company and the organisation that delivers the Motability Scheme to over 690,000 disabled people, as their first charge point operator (CPO) partner.

The collaboration will allow Motability Scheme EV drivers to find a location on Osprey’s  750-strong rapid charging network, charge, and pay through the Motability Go Charge App and review the location for accessibility.

This seamless charging and billing, combined with the visibility of reviews from peers on the App, will help to improve Motability Scheme drivers’ confidence in choosing and using public charging.

This is the latest fleet collaboration made possible by Osprey’s Iris platform, which integrates directly with Paua’s platform underpinning the Motability Go Charge App.

Osprey was the first charge point operator to build accessibly-designed public charging hubs, and to subscribe to independent, public EV charging endorsement body ChargeSafe, as well as vocally support the BSI PAS1899 standards for accessible charging and commit to network audits and targets based on these.

The collaboration also aims to gain valuable insight into how the public charging experience works for disabled drivers, their families and their carers.

Ian Johnston, CEO of Osprey Charging: ‘Motability Operations is not only the largest leasing company in the UK, but one of the most important in empowering access to public charging and ease of use for all drivers. This is something close to Osprey’s heart, so we’re delighted to be the first CPO partner of Motability Operations. We look forward to seeing the feedback from drivers, which will help us continue to set the bar for inclusivity and user-friendly charging for all.’

Jonathan Jenkins, Head of Innovation at Motability Operations: ‘The accessibility of charge points remains one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption for customers on the Motability Scheme. We’re excited to be working with Osprey to help support our customers charging needs and ensure the move to electric is as simple and worry-free as possible. Working with forward-thinking companies like Osprey, we hope to be able to smooth the transition to EVs for all drivers.’