New e-vecicle charging points on Townley Road

[micromacromonkey]

I don't have an electric car but I wholeheartedly support the implementation of these. If it makes it slightly more difficult to park my diesel car then I will just deal with that in the knowledge that it's a penalty for my continuing air pollution.

(I do 6000 miles a year on my bike and only about 2000 in the car so not much point in me buying an electric one right now, even with the ULEZ coming in.)

[micromacromonkey]

It's interesting that people are simultaneously complaining that the council (or whoever... e-car illuminati?) are wasting money by installing them yet saving money by cynically installing them next to each other.

[Earl Aelfheah]

I wholehartedly support the installation of more charging points. I just think they should be distributed more widely / across different streets where possible, where the demand is (rather than in banks away from people's houses). If it's a private enterprise however, then I guess it's up to them. I can't imagine many people are going to park too far from their house though, so seems like a weird approach.

[malumbu]

Its good to see that at least two of you support this. I expect many posting here hardly ever use their cars so would be better off using car clubs, cabs and public transport. It's happening (electrification) so get used to it. For further information here are some of the commitments from last year's Road to Zero Strategy. There will be consultation at local and national levels so you have your chance to have your say. eg https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/electric-vehicle-smart-charging and http://roadsafetygb.org.uk/news/400-million-to-bolster-uks-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure/

Road to Zero Strategy

26.Launching a ?400 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund to help accelerate charging infrastructure deployment.

27.Taking powers through the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill to ensure:●●that chargepoints are available at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers; ●●that chargepoints are easily accessed and used across the UK. This includes powers to provide a uniform method of accessing public chargepoints and refuelling points; make certain information publicly available in an open and transparent format and set reliability standards; and ●●that chargepoints are smart ready by giving government powers to set requirements prohibiting the sale or installation of chargepoints unless they meet certain requirements.

28.Ensuring the houses we build in the coming years are electric vehicle ready. It is our intention that all new homes, where appropriate, should have a chargepoint available. We plan to consult as soon as possible on introducing a requirement for chargepoint infrastructure for new dwellings in England where appropriate.

29.Future-proofing our streets. We want all new street lighting columns to include charging points, where appropriately located, in areas with current on-street parking provision.

30.Continuing to provide grant support through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) until March 2019, with installations becoming smart enabled.

31.Increasing the grant level of the Workplace Charging Scheme from ?300 per socket to 75% of the purchase and installation costs of a chargepoint capped at a maximum of ?500 per socket.

32.Reviewing the provision of residential chargepoint infrastructure for those who have communal parking facilities, or do not own their own home, as part of the Law Commission?s work to review and reinvigorate the commonhold tenure in England and Wales.

33.Investing ?4.5 million in the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme until 2020.

34.Consulting in summer 2018 on a proposal to increase the height limit for the Permitted Development Right in England for the installation of electric vehicle chargepoints in designated off-street parking spaces.

35.Ensuring local planning policies incorporate facilities for charging electric vehicles via the National Planning Policy Framework.36.Consulting on amending Building Regulations to require relevant charging provision in new non-residential buildings.

[Nigello]

Electric vehicles are good, but they still cause congestion. Simply replacing all our diesel/petrol/hybrid vehicles with them won't solved the pain of traffic jams and high car-pedstrian/cyclist/biker ratio. So, if you must drive, just have one or join a car club.

[herne hilly]

Can understand why they would install in a cluster as there was a lot of road digging to get the 5 i have saw being done in se24. Saying that, positioning them outside sunray park on a dead end road with no houses around is odd.

I would be interested to know how many hours they have been used, from what i have seen i would say at most one has been used for maybe a few hours in total in the last month. They are empty 99% of the time

[micromacromonkey]

herne hilly Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Can understand why they would install in a cluster

> as there was a lot of road digging to get the 5 i

> have saw being done in se24. Saying that,

> positioning them outside sunray park on a dead end

> road with no houses around is odd.

> I would be interested to know how many hours they

> have been used, from what i have seen i would say

> at most one has been used for maybe a few hours in

> total in the last month. They are empty 99% of the

> time

Chicken and egg though. There aren't many electric vehicles using the chargers because overall the charging infrastructure is insufficient to support their practical use. So we need to build the infrastructure to make it easier for people to take the plunge and buy eletric cars.

(I think I also sent that message via PM for some reason oops)

[Tara]

I agree. People need to see the charging infrastructure in place in order to convince them that an electric car would work for them. Their use will grow incrementally. It?s really important that there are dedicated parking spaces to be able to use them. The lamppost chargers are not great as you simply cannot rely on being able to park near them when you need to charge.

However I also agree that electric cars are not the whole solution and that we need to look at reducing car use. Car clubs etc are a great idea and I?ll be seriously considering one when I don?t have car seats to lug around!

I am happy to talk to anyone considering an electric car. We live ours!

[malumbu]

Nigello Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Electric vehicles are good, but they still cause > congestion. Simply replacing all our > diesel/petrol/hybrid vehicles with them won't > solved the pain of traffic jams and high car-pedstrian/cyclist/biker ratio. So, if you must

> drive, just have one or join a car club.

Yep, even worse when incentives such as being allowed in bus lanes, no parking costs etc are brought in, peeing cyclists like me off, affecting public transport and encouraging some to switch from such cleaner/more sustainable forms of transport. Tackling climate change isn't must about switching to electric. But this is a key part of it, so get used to it.

[Metallic]

Three in Pickwick Rd. Never seen them being used.

[Tatty Mum]

I have a hybrid, ?9 to ?10 to charge on the dedicated Source London Points plus membership -after the first year of ?4 per month- (these points are often blocked by electric car club cars plugged in but not charging Blue City is owned by tge same French company that owns the charging points) this give an electric only range of 28-34 miles, the Ubitricity points in the street lamps for the same amount of charge cost ?2.28 via an app with no membership = no brainer. Love driving without adding to the emmissions but we are a long way from it being an easy choice and if I could rely on an electric car club vehicle being readily available would have no hesitation in not owning a car.

As for Townley Road, expect to regularly see a row of Red Blue City Electric cars more or less based there permanently, can't wait!

[malumbu]

What sort of hybrid? A proper EV or one of those pretend ones (aka self-charging). Good to hear that you charge yours up (so it is a proper plug in one), some don't bother (business users) which is the worst of both worlds. I do like the people who put a cable across the pavement, not the way it should be done but it all counts.

https://www.ardrossanherald.com/news/17428841.beith-driver-told-by-council-that-safety-cover-for-cable-is-a-hazard/

[micromacromonkey]

Tatty Mum Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have a hybrid, ?9 to ?10 to charge on the

> dedicated Source London Points plus membership

> -after the first year of ?4 per month- (these

> points are often blocked by electric car club

> cars plugged in but not charging Blue City is

> owned by tge same French company that owns the

> charging points) this give an electric only range

> of 28-34 miles, the Ubitricity points in the

> street lamps for the same amount of charge cost

> ?2.28 via an app with no membership = no brainer.

> Love driving without adding to the emmissions but

> we are a long way from it being an easy choice and

> if I could rely on an electric car club vehicle

> being readily available would have no hesitation

> in not owning a car.

> As for Townley Road, expect to regularly see a row

> of Red Blue City Electric cars more or less based

> there permanently, can't wait!

?10 for 30 miles? That is ridiculous! That has to be twice as much as a petrol car for that mileage. Didn't realise it was such a ripoff.

[herne hilly]

that does seem quite expensive but guess you have to weigh this up with the pollution that petrol/diesel give out.

are the charging points all powered with electricity from a renewable source as if they are fossil fuel powered seems like we are going round in circles.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Encouraging electric cars over petrol or diesel ones is good. But discouraging car use generally is better.

[Tatty Mum]

Indeed public charging points can be more expensive than fuel. Polar Plus is cheaper than Source London (which I only use when I would be paying for parking anyway) you get a free first year but Ubitricity sockets in lamp posts is the way to go. Yes I am an obsessive plugger-in of my PHEV otherwise what is the point? I don't have a driveway but if I did I would go pure electric.

I agree that discouraging car use is desirable (some families in my road have two cars) but the nature of my job needs me to drive late at night but if car sharing was more viable.........

[mikeb]

Although I'm pretty cynical about this, to be fair, I've recently seen the Townley Road spaces more than half used in the evenings.

[malumbu]

The Outlander PHEV became popular with business fleets when Mitsubishi dropped the price to make it equivalent to the the diesel model when the then government grant was applied. Trouble was that some users were not plugging in meaning driving in petrol mode only - and more carbon emissions that the diesel variant defeating the whole object in terms of climate change. And there was also the issue of blocking charging bays necessarily.

Government grants are rightly moving towards subsidising infrastructure, rather than the richer people who can afford electric cars. The rest of us will have to wait for the economies of scale, or buy on the second hand market helped by the rapid fall in resale values. Some manufacturers are now get it, Volvo, VW for example. Another V, Vauxhall, want us to trade up to a standard SUV - heavier and less fuel efficient than a town car, with their ?4k scrappage scheme.

The diesel petrol argument in terms of air quality for newer vehicles is irrelevant, and direct injection petrol could be more polluting. The ULEZ will be good in one respect, older diesels where the particulate filter has either been removed or failed, The vehicles should not pass an MOT and it would be fairly easy for an enforcement officer to order the owner to get the offending vehicle checked at an MOT station or risk points. But there is little of no such enforcement.

Taking action on unnecessary idling is futile. Westminster has done sweet FA about it despite having the powers for yonks. It's a no-brainer but private and business drivers aren't bothered or don't care, including the blue light services. "Can you turn your engine off please officer! "**** ***" is the usual response.