Accessible / Disabled EV Charging bays

silverwhistle

MouldyOldDough said:

EV's are easy to drive but not to refuel - that's my only issue with them - UK is moving ahead too fast without any consideration or plans for those less able to cope with heavy leads and recharging systems....

The issue of charging for disabled people has certainly come up on the specialist EV forums, although people have noted that some providers have been upping their game and other sites are alongside petrol stations and hence manned. At the bigger hubs there'll be people to help, we're generally a helpful crowd with a few uptight outliers.

How many miles do you normally drive and will you need to use the higher powered chargers with the heavier cables? My domestic 7kW one at home is a lot easier to handle than a petrol hose and I charge less than once a week. Although the situation could do with improvement your objections are a bit edge case and it's certainly not an insuperable problem.

As for Car_54s comments, the market has expanded fantastically in the last few years, and now there are company cars coming off lease the second hand market also has far better prices and choice too. Round my way in the south EVs are all over the place and no longer stand out.

user1977

born_again said:

MouldyOldDough said:

lordmountararat said:

I would have thought electric cars are ideal for disabled drivers. They are very easy to drive, maintenance is minimal and charging, especially at home, an absolute doddle.

EV's are easy to drive but not to refuel - that's my only issue with them - UK is moving ahead too fast without any consideration or plans for those less able to cope with heavy leads and recharging systems....

 But how often do people not charge at home?

"Always" if they don't have an off-road parking space, surely? Which is a huge proportion of households.

sheramber

Herzlos said:

sheramber said:

The EV chargers in my loclal area are in  public car parks so no one to call for help.

You certainly don't want to rely on random members of the public for help, but I'm pretty confident most businesses that have EV charging facilities attached would be happy to send someone out to plug in for you, assuming you were visiting that business. Most multi-story car parks are staffed too, and petrol stations.

With home charging, it may require some arrangement with a carer, family member of neighbour to plug the car in once a week or whatever. It's not as if it'll need done daily in most cases.

And for those people who can't do it themselves, can't get anyone to do it for them and never visit anywhere that's staffed, they'll presumably just need to stick to petrol.

But ours are not attached to businesses. They are in open public car parks belonging to the council or private parking companies. 

Goudy

Herzlos said:

This time he actually has a point, there really isn't much accessible charging spaces.

Traditionally in a staffed petrol station, you'd park at a pump, put your hazards on and someone would come out and fill it for you, job done.

All of the EV spaces I can picture are normal width* so getting a wheelchair between parked cars would be a nightmare unless you can get an end space, and the actual charger setup may not be very accessible depending on location, cable length and charging port etc.

It's certainly made a bit more prominent since Motability are encouraging people to use EVs, but it's only a relatively small subset of users who can't use an EV (you'd need to be a permanent wheelchair user without any kind of carer or help) and even then there are still ICE options. 

What'll happen after ICE cars stop production by 2035? I' mnot sure, though hybrids will still be a thing.

Maybe with larger ranges it will be less of an issue. I know there's been experiments with self-connecting chargers that'd make most of the issue redundant too. Maybe it'll be possible to have a van come to your car and charge it.

Instead of using it to bash EV's again, MouldyOldDough, you should be contacting your MP, motoring orgs like the AA, and disability activist groups to try and make the problem visible and hopefully solved.

*I actually think we should be making all parking spaces at least 1ft wider and longer for the sake of everyone, because it's not just people with blue badges that need more access space.

I agree and have seen a bit of it first hand.

Earlier this year I was on secondment, filling in for someone that left (with a golden boot in the backside).

I was looking after some of our community sites, one of which had a charger in the unit's carpark.
It was mainly all disabled parking to a few spaces for community vehicles to park, like patient transport vehicles and some other community vehicles.

This particular site was a amputee rehabilitation unit, so no surprises in relation to the disabled parking, but the charger was clearly an after thought that came after the disabled bays were created which meant it was very difficult, if not impossible for some to use.

I noticed a couple of regular faces using the charger without much issue, but not everyone has the same disabilities as the next and some really struggled, getting out in the space, getting the cables out of the car, getting the cable to the charger, reaching for the charger and getting back to the car towing a cable in a wheelchair did appear more difficult than I ever imagined.

I also spoke to man that just wouldn't park there, I did offer to help and said someone in the unit is always available to help but said he wouldn't ask for help.

I found this a bit odd at first, but he made the point that he shouldn't have to ask for help.
He made a point that the world shouldn't revolve just around him but the point of coming to the centre is how to live his life fully and as independently as they can "with some pride" (his words).

I wholly agreed with that, some short sightedness at a place that really should have known better (that goes for a lot of places, not just here) has caused an issue for the majority of EV users that use that particular charger.

The chap told me he used a MFG charging station on his way home/near to his home so I checked it out.
It was night and day different, access and use is much better, that was evident to my newly opened eyes and there was even a cafe/Greggs on site, which in my eyes made it perfect!

The secondment came with the use of a car, a Renault Zoe.
I only had to pay a couple of times for charging it myself, once wasn't really me paying, I just got a good deal on some airport parking with a free charge, but I'm still counting that.

Another was to try this MFG place out and then the penny dropped, unless you're in that situation it's very difficult to judge what's possible for people with different disabilities and I would say the MFG one wasn't perfect, I'm sure someone might struggle, but why should someone spend their life asking for help.

The job is some else's now and the car has gone but since I've kept an eye out on various chargers and it does seem a lot of people I met at the unit would struggle with a lot of them, particularly road side ones like in lamp posts and some untethered ones.
Shame really, as a society we do seem to leave some behind or struggling when changes take place. 

Bonniepurple

Goudy said:

Herzlos said:

This time he actually has a point, there really isn't much accessible charging spaces.

Traditionally in a staffed petrol station, you'd park at a pump, put your hazards on and someone would come out and fill it for you, job done.

All of the EV spaces I can picture are normal width* so getting a wheelchair between parked cars would be a nightmare unless you can get an end space, and the actual charger setup may not be very accessible depending on location, cable length and charging port etc.

It's certainly made a bit more prominent since Motability are encouraging people to use EVs, but it's only a relatively small subset of users who can't use an EV (you'd need to be a permanent wheelchair user without any kind of carer or help) and even then there are still ICE options. 

What'll happen after ICE cars stop production by 2035? I' mnot sure, though hybrids will still be a thing.

Maybe with larger ranges it will be less of an issue. I know there's been experiments with self-connecting chargers that'd make most of the issue redundant too. Maybe it'll be possible to have a van come to your car and charge it.

Instead of using it to bash EV's again, MouldyOldDough, you should be contacting your MP, motoring orgs like the AA, and disability activist groups to try and make the problem visible and hopefully solved.

*I actually think we should be making all parking spaces at least 1ft wider and longer for the sake of everyone, because it's not just people with blue badges that need more access space.

I agree and have seen a bit of it first hand.

Earlier this year I was on secondment, filling in for someone that left (with a golden boot in the backside).

I was looking after some of our community sites, one of which had a charger in the unit's carpark.
It was mainly all disabled parking to a few spaces for community vehicles to park, like patient transport vehicles and some other community vehicles.

This particular site was a amputee rehabilitation unit, so no surprises in relation to the disabled parking, but the charger was clearly an after thought that came after the disabled bays were created which meant it was very difficult, if not impossible for some to use.

I noticed a couple of regular faces using the charger without much issue, but not everyone has the same disabilities as the next and some really struggled, getting out in the space, getting the cables out of the car, getting the cable to the charger, reaching for the charger and getting back to the car towing a cable in a wheelchair did appear more difficult than I ever imagined.

I also spoke to man that just wouldn't park there, I did offer to help and said someone in the unit is always available to help but said he wouldn't ask for help.

I found this a bit odd at first, but he made the point that he shouldn't have to ask for help.
He made a point that the world shouldn't revolve just around him but the point of coming to the centre is how to live his life fully and as independently as they can "with some pride" (his words).

I wholly agreed with that, some short sightedness at a place that really should have known better (that goes for a lot of places, not just here) has caused an issue for the majority of EV users that use that particular charger.

The chap told me he used a MFG charging station on his way home/near to his home so I checked it out.
It was night and day different, access and use is much better, that was evident to my newly opened eyes and there was even a cafe/Greggs on site, which in my eyes made it perfect!

The secondment came with the use of a car, a Renault Zoe.
I only had to pay a couple of times for charging it myself, once wasn't really me paying, I just got a good deal on some airport parking with a free charge, but I'm still counting that.

Another was to try this MFG place out and then the penny dropped, unless you're in that situation it's very difficult to judge what's possible for people with different disabilities and I would say the MFG one wasn't perfect, I'm sure someone might struggle, but why should someone spend their life asking for help.

The job is some else's now and the car has gone but since I've kept an eye out on various chargers and it does seem a lot of people I met at the unit would struggle with a lot of them, particularly road side ones like in lamp posts and some untethered ones.
Shame really, as a society we do seem to leave some behind or struggling when changes take place. 

BIB.  I’ve had to adapt with my disability and will have to continue to adapt- but why should I be doing all the adapting?  If I want to drive a car and refuel I don’t want to have to get someone to help me- I want to fuel and go.  If I take my wheelchair out I don’t want the already difficult to manage pavements made smaller by EV chargers which, for some disabilities, would be impossible to use (passenger side).  

I have seen a motorway services which removed some disabled bays to provide EVA chargers.  Could we perhaps have disability friendly EV chargers in the blue badge spaces? Could they also potentially have an option to recharge power chair and scooter batteries?

born_again

Bonniepurple said:Could they also potentially have an option to recharge power chair and scooter batteries?

Actually there is a way to do this. 
Same as some Motor Home users are. You can get a Type 2 charger to either one of the caravan connectors or a normal socket.
Find a A/C charger & off you go. Not the cheapest, but works 😜😜😜Or if you have V2L, charge disabled devices via that method 👍

MouldyOldDough

Bonniepurple said:

Goudy said:

Herzlos said:

This time he actually has a point, there really isn't much accessible charging spaces.

Traditionally in a staffed petrol station, you'd park at a pump, put your hazards on and someone would come out and fill it for you, job done.

All of the EV spaces I can picture are normal width* so getting a wheelchair between parked cars would be a nightmare unless you can get an end space, and the actual charger setup may not be very accessible depending on location, cable length and charging port etc.

It's certainly made a bit more prominent since Motability are encouraging people to use EVs, but it's only a relatively small subset of users who can't use an EV (you'd need to be a permanent wheelchair user without any kind of carer or help) and even then there are still ICE options. 

What'll happen after ICE cars stop production by 2035? I' mnot sure, though hybrids will still be a thing.

Maybe with larger ranges it will be less of an issue. I know there's been experiments with self-connecting chargers that'd make most of the issue redundant too. Maybe it'll be possible to have a van come to your car and charge it.

Instead of using it to bash EV's again, MouldyOldDough, you should be contacting your MP, motoring orgs like the AA, and disability activist groups to try and make the problem visible and hopefully solved.

*I actually think we should be making all parking spaces at least 1ft wider and longer for the sake of everyone, because it's not just people with blue badges that need more access space.

I agree and have seen a bit of it first hand.

Earlier this year I was on secondment, filling in for someone that left (with a golden boot in the backside).

I was looking after some of our community sites, one of which had a charger in the unit's carpark.
It was mainly all disabled parking to a few spaces for community vehicles to park, like patient transport vehicles and some other community vehicles.

This particular site was a amputee rehabilitation unit, so no surprises in relation to the disabled parking, but the charger was clearly an after thought that came after the disabled bays were created which meant it was very difficult, if not impossible for some to use.

I noticed a couple of regular faces using the charger without much issue, but not everyone has the same disabilities as the next and some really struggled, getting out in the space, getting the cables out of the car, getting the cable to the charger, reaching for the charger and getting back to the car towing a cable in a wheelchair did appear more difficult than I ever imagined.

I also spoke to man that just wouldn't park there, I did offer to help and said someone in the unit is always available to help but said he wouldn't ask for help.

I found this a bit odd at first, but he made the point that he shouldn't have to ask for help.
He made a point that the world shouldn't revolve just around him but the point of coming to the centre is how to live his life fully and as independently as they can "with some pride" (his words).

I wholly agreed with that, some short sightedness at a place that really should have known better (that goes for a lot of places, not just here) has caused an issue for the majority of EV users that use that particular charger.

The chap told me he used a MFG charging station on his way home/near to his home so I checked it out.
It was night and day different, access and use is much better, that was evident to my newly opened eyes and there was even a cafe/Greggs on site, which in my eyes made it perfect!

The secondment came with the use of a car, a Renault Zoe.
I only had to pay a couple of times for charging it myself, once wasn't really me paying, I just got a good deal on some airport parking with a free charge, but I'm still counting that.

Another was to try this MFG place out and then the penny dropped, unless you're in that situation it's very difficult to judge what's possible for people with different disabilities and I would say the MFG one wasn't perfect, I'm sure someone might struggle, but why should someone spend their life asking for help.

The job is some else's now and the car has gone but since I've kept an eye out on various chargers and it does seem a lot of people I met at the unit would struggle with a lot of them, particularly road side ones like in lamp posts and some untethered ones.
Shame really, as a society we do seem to leave some behind or struggling when changes take place. 

BIB.  I’ve had to adapt with my disability and will have to continue to adapt- but why should I be doing all the adapting?  If I want to drive a car and refuel I don’t want to have to get someone to help me- I want to fuel and go.  If I take my wheelchair out I don’t want the already difficult to manage pavements made smaller by EV chargers which, for some disabilities, would be impossible to use (passenger side).  

I have seen a motorway services which removed some disabled bays to provide EVA chargers.  Could we perhaps have disability friendly EV chargers in the blue badge spaces? Could they also potentially have an option to recharge power chair and scooter batteries?

The problem with this is that Power chair and scooter batteries are not designed for quick charging - so unless you are happy waiting for several hours to charge your wheelchair -  not a good idea !

Also who wants to charge their wheelchairs at a motorway service station anyway - surely you would have charged it  fully at home before you set out on your journey ?

Herzlos

It presumably wouldn't be hard to charge a power chair or scooter whilst it's in the car.  I know the electric Berlingo/SpaceTourer have an option for a 230V socket which means you could plug a regular charger in.

I'm assuming for a lot of disabled people, that may be a lot easier than detaching the battery or bringing the scooter into the house to charge.

Not available on the petrol/diesel though. Turns out having a huge battery can be handy for some stuff.

born_again

Herzlos said:

It presumably wouldn't be hard to charge a power chair or scooter whilst it's in the car.  I know the electric Berlingo/SpaceTourer have an option for a 230V socket which means you could plug a regular charger in.

I'm assuming for a lot of disabled people, that may be a lot easier than detaching the battery or bringing the scooter into the house to charge.

Not available on the petrol/diesel though. Turns out having a huge battery can be handy for some stuff.

Run a inverter off 12V socket.

Just because a EV has a large battery, does not mean it is being used. EV's still run on 12V same as ICE for all lights heating etc.

MouldyOldDough

born_again said:

Herzlos said:

It presumably wouldn't be hard to charge a power chair or scooter whilst it's in the car.  I know the electric Berlingo/SpaceTourer have an option for a 230V socket which means you could plug a regular charger in.

I'm assuming for a lot of disabled people, that may be a lot easier than detaching the battery or bringing the scooter into the house to charge.

Not available on the petrol/diesel though. Turns out having a huge battery can be handy for some stuff.

Run a inverter off 12V socket.

Just because a EV has a large battery, does not mean it is being used. EV's still run on 12V same as ICE for all lights heating etc.

A typical electric wheelchair battery is 24 v - 40Ah !!

rather than 12v

And again - why would someone want to charge their chair from the vehicle ?

Mine is always charged before I go out - the night before !