Free ride for EV drivers in Knox may be coming to an end

Would you be happy to pay to charge an Electric Vehicle (EV)? 

This is a question Knox Council is seeking the community’s views on, after voting at Tuesday night’s meeting to put its draft Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Policy out for public consultation.

If the policy is introduced the council will set fees for people for using an EV charging station, in order to recoup maintenance costs.

How many charging stations does Knox Council own and operate?

Knox’s first public charger opened at the Knox Civic Centre in April 2019. As of March 2025 there are 27 public charging bays in Knox.

Five of these are owned by Knox Council - two bays at Knox Civic Centre and at Fairpark Reserve, and one at Knox Regional Netball Stadium.

Out of the remaining 22 EV charging stations accessible to the public, there are 14 fast charging stations, of which seven are in council-owned car parks and run via a third party, Jolt. The others are on private land.

Data showed that 58 percent of drivers using the three council-owned sites were based in Knox, and had an average charging time of two hours.

Why is Knox Council considering EV charging fees?

In 2024 there were more than 6,000 charging sessions across the three council-owned sites, which cost the council about $21,000.

Knox Council Deputy Mayor Glen Atwell said the new model would be more sustainable, and fairer for all ratepayers.

“I think, at the moment, our free chargers are very well utilised,” he said. “It’s costing council quite a bit of money to operate the council-owned and maintained charging bays.

How much will EV drivers have to pay?

The draft policy proposes a user pays system for charging stations owned and operated by Knox Council. Money raised would go towards covering installation, maintenance and operational costs, such as software management, data connection and electricity.

The draft policy proposes a fee of 25 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first two hours of using the charging space, plus an additional “idle fee” for drivers who leave their cars in the space for longer than 135 minutes.

Atwell said the proposed rate was “very competitive” when compared to other public charging places, with privately operated fast chargers ranging from 50c/kWh to 70c/kWh, and the fees for privately owned and operated slow chargers in Knox currently ranging from 20c/kWh to 35c/kWh.

“It positions Knox as a place you know you’re going to be able to access some reliable good charging on an EV journey,” he said.

Where might future council-owned chargers be located?

Knox Council has proposed the following sites as potential locations for future charging stations:

• Rowville Community Centre, 40 Fulham Rd, Rowville;

• Dorset Square Car Park, corner of Dorset and Boronia roads, Boronia;

• Alchester Car Park, Alchester Cr, Boronia;

• Knox Leisureworks Car Park, Tormore Rd, Boronia;

• Valentine Street Car Park, Bayswater;

• James Street Car Park, Bayswater;

• Car Park, 195 Scoresby Rd, Boronia;

• Thaxted Parade Car Park, Wantirna;

• Wantirna Mall Car Park, Wantirna, and;

• Ferntree Gully Library / Knox Environment Society Car Park, Ferntree Gully.e