BEVs deals and information

JKenH

The electric car ‘notspots’ have been revealed for the first time as new Government figures showed places in the UK without any charging points.

Data released by the Department for Transport showed two boroughs, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and the Isle of Scilly, do not have a single public place for electric or hybrid cars to charge.

Meanwhile, Scotland led the rest of the UK for number of charging points, with Orkney and the Outer Hebrides having some of the highest numbers of chargers per capita.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/02/places-uk-no-electric-charging-points-revealed-first-time/

My local government district has 12 over an area of 1156 sq km or about one every 100 sq km, not great if you are dependent on public charging. With a population of 92800 that is about one per 7700 people. Because they are spread about, If the local ones are busy you have quite a drive to find the next one.

ABrass

That puts you in one of the less urbanised local authorities. Which probably also means that most people have access to home charging? Which in turn means less need for public charging facilities

JKenH

ABrass wrote: »

That puts you in one of the less urbanised local authorities. Which probably also means that most people have access to home charging? Which in turn means less need for public charging facilities

It is indeed a largely rural area so out in the villages off street parking is not too much of a problem but there is one large town of 23k people. In 1911 the population of the town was 20.5k who worked primarily in two large engineering works and were accommodated in two distinct areas of terrace housing which still survive.There is one charging point within 0.5 miles of one of the areas but the nearest to the other area is about a mile away (on average) so it is not practical for the terraced hose residents to charge an EV overnight. There is a third charging point on a business park on the outskirts of town. (The 22kW charging point in the town centre charges 30p/kWh). Out of interest at the end of 2018 there 187 electric vehicles (electric or plug-in hybrid cars, vans and micro-cars called quadricycles) in the local authority area out of 66788 vehicles in total.

For a large proportion of working age people BEVs are not currently a practical option. Things will no doubt improve over time but the business case for installing charging points in the areas where the terraced housing is situated doesn’t look strong so take up of EVs is likely to be slow.

ABrass

It'll need to change, no doubt. Thankfully the number of people who do have the ability to charge at home is also a large proportion. They'll demonstrate the market and need for public charging and by the time that EVs become affordable enough to make sense at public charging prices, will result in enough infrastructure to support them.

JKenH

ABrass wrote: »

It'll need to change, no doubt. Thankfully the number of people who do have the ability to charge at home is also a large proportion. They'll demonstrate the market and need for public charging and by the time that EVs become affordable enough to make sense at public charging prices, will result in enough infrastructure to support them.

The people who are able to charge at home are also those more likely either to have the option of a BEV company car or to be able to afford EVs either outright or on PCP so I envisage there will be a split between the haves and the have nots which may be politically challenging to manage. (Before anyone shoots me down on that generalisation I accept there will be exceptions particularly in areas where terraced houses are worth twice or three times what my detached house is worth.)

Martyn1981

ABrass wrote: »

That puts you in one of the less urbanised local authorities. Which probably also means that most people have access to home charging? Which in turn means less need for public charging facilities

Are you offering solutions to problems? I think you will find the DM and Torygraph are only interested in problems for solutions. This negative nancy approach has stood them in good stead for a long, long time.

Until 100% of people can 'easily' have a BEV, we shouldn't deploy any at all, just like ICE cars weren't deployed until a national highway and refueling infrastructure had been fully built out ..... right?

Edit - Should have added that a FF (forum friend) who provided us all with some early info on the trials and tribulations of battery ownership, took possession of a LR TM3 yesterday, despite living in a terraced property with no on site charging. I assume his plan is to buy a new one every 300 miles or so.

Martyn1981

I'm a strong believer that BEV's will win out simply because they are now better, and cheaper (in TCO terms) than ICEV's, but any policies that help, will only speed up the transition, and ultimately reduce the total FF burn, so this idea is interesting, especially as it's in the US where, again, BEV's are now cheaper, but it's a close fight due to the relatively low taxation on fuel.

Schumer Floats Plan to Take Gas-Powered Vehicles Off U.S. Roads By 2040


Edit - Great counterpoint to the idea, which claims it would achieve the same, simply by raising the fuel tax, and adding a small carbon tax to the cost of new ICEV's:

Sen. Chuck Schumer wants to spend half a trillion dollars to get people to buy cars they don't currently want. There's a better way.

Now, before you think I'm some right-wing EV hater, please understand that I, too, believe that it's imperative to do something about auto emissions and global warming. I have three children and I want them and my grandchildren to live on planet Earth, not Elon City on Mars or in an underground bunker. I just want to do something right now and not spend half a trillion bucks or wait around a decade.

So forget Schumer's plan and follow mine, instead.

It entails two components, one of which might be optional.

Component number one: Raise the federal gas tax. At about $0.18 per gallon (higher for diesel), it hasn't gone up since 1993. That's 26 years of federally subsidized fossil fuels. Elevate it by $0.25 and we could raise $300 billion. But what about the other $150 billion of Schumer's estimated plan?
Component two! That could come from a small carbon tax applied to new vehicles at the point of sale, a sort of value-added-tax that would get rolled into the financing as destination and delivery charges are today. Make it $100. Nobody would notice and in a decade it would raise $170 billion. (Gas-guzzlers are already taxed, and it's a lot more than $100.)

JKenH

Martyn1981 wrote: »

I think you will find the DM and Torygraph are only interested in problems for solutions. This negative nancy approach has stood them in good stead for a long, long time.

Did you form that impression from the series of articles the DT ran this week on EVs? I would quote the full articles but p-o-s quite rightly pointed out I would probably be in breach of copywrite if I did so. Do you find the conclusions they reached on whether to buy an electric car as negative or realistic?

So – should I buy an electric car?

As with most things in life, the answer is not a clear-cut ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It all depends on your circumstances. At the moment, if you have a driveway, are able to install a wall charger and can afford a longer-range model, it seems to make sense. Not only are electric cars cheaper to run, but in most day-to-day circumstances they’re nicer to drive, too.

However, we would advise doing the maths to work out whether it makes sense financially. Electric cars are still expensive to buy, and if you don’t do enough miles per year to mitigate that extra cost (environmental and financial) through fuel savings you’ll need to decide whether the other advantages of owning an electric car are worth it. What's more, Britain's fledgling electric car charging infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired, and for now we'd be reluctant to recommend electric car ownership to anyone who might depend on public charge points.



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/electric-cars-explained-should-buy-ev-will-save-money/

JKenH

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Edit - Should have added that a FF (forum friend) who provided us all with some early info on the trials and tribulations of battery ownership, took possession of a LR TM3 yesterday, despite living in a terraced property with no on site charging.

He’s probably an EV enthusiast. No problem with that. As we were discussing with batteries, if it makes you happy just do it. If its your hobby, practical and financial considerations don’t really come into it. I am sure he will enjoy his new Tesla.

One size doesn’t fit all.

silverwhistle

ABrass wrote: »

That puts you in one of the less urbanised local authorities. Which probably also means that most people have access to home charging? Which in turn means less need for public charging facilities

I think the issue is two fold: firstly those people who don't have home charging and secondly the absence of fast chargers for visitors and through traffic.



In the latter instance, say I want to go for a bit of a holiday in Wales for a bit of sewin fishing or mountain walking I'd probably be able to granny-charge at many B&Bs or hotels overnight. But getting there might be an issue..