New research by Independent Advisor Car Insurance reveals that Bedford leads the UK in the percentage of free EV charging points available to drivers.

Independent Advisor Car Insurance ranked UK towns and cities based on the availability of free EV charging points. Bedford emerged as the top town, with 98% of its EV chargers available for free, providing 14.47 free chargers per 10,000 residents. Despite being fifth overall in the wider rankings, Bedford’s high percentage of free chargers distinguishes it as the most accessible for EV drivers.

Nottingham follows closely, also at 98%, with 632 free charging points out of 643. This equates to 8.63 free chargers per 10,000 people, serving a population of 729,977. Warrington, with a population of 165,456, matches this percentage with 122 free points out of 125, offering 7.40 free chargers per 10,000 people.

Other notable cities in the top ten include Dudley, Aberdeen, and Milton Keynes, all featuring 98% free charging points. Particularly noteworthy is Milton Keynes, which provides 451 free charging points, translating to 19.54 free chargers per 10,000 residents—the highest density among the top cities.

In contrast, Liverpool ranks lowest, with only 19% of its EV chargers free to use. This equates to 1.06 free chargers per 10,000 residents, lower than both London (21% free, 2.26 per 10,000) and Newcastle upon Tyne (23% free, 2.7 per 10,000), which also ranked poorly in terms of free EV charging availability.