Only 26,000 car chargers in the UK and many are broken
The UK government announced on Sunday night it would boost electric car charging, and tossed out a figure of “another 145,000 new charging points” to be expected as a result of new regulations to ensure chargers are built in to all new houses and offices. These are likely to be private charging points in houses or offices, rather than public charging points that increase the ease with which EV drivers can refuel.
Electric cars are said to be one of the key weapons in the fight against climate change. Yet many hybrids give out more harmful emissions than the latest diesel models, a documentary on Channel 4 tonight (Monday 21st Nov) has learned.
Meanwhile, the opportunities presented by the shift to electric vehicles (and the threats to the exchequer’s revenue from petrol tax) are still obscure and there is little consensus on policy or technology for delivering the EV revolution. The Transport and Energy ministries are on hard with ample amount of cash to “seed the market,” without actually knowing what the market is, or what it will be in 20 years time.
Apple recently announced it will start selling self-driving vehicles in 2025, and its shares shot to new heights as a result. Imagine a world in 20 years time where very few city dwellers bother to own a car, and taxis are almost extinct. Our streets are no longer clogged with parked cars, because they are always in use, or stored in out of town locations. No time is spent looking for a parking space, and as a result traffic flows 25% more quickly.
That is one possible future for the cars, but what about the car chargers? Decisions made now will either accelerate the switch to cleaner cheaper transport for all, or condemn the country to the slow lane for decades.
The C4 documentary says there are about 26,000 chargers at present in the UK, and found on a single day in September that 10% of the fastest chargers are not functioning at any given time. These “rapid charging points” are normally at motorway service stations and typically cost £6.50 for a 30 min ~ 90 mile – charge.
The presenter of the documentary Morland Sanders called for better provision of chargers in remote rural areas which are currently under-represented in the national rollout. “Better provision in rural areas is vital. That charger on a remote A-road may only receive a handful of visits per day, but it could be the only connector for a considerable distance and therefore essential for those using it,” said Sanders.
There are apps that allow the owners of private charging points to offer their front drives for sale to the highest bidder. This may lead to micro-garages in suburban streets all over the country, but if that si what car drtivers want, ten we had better recognise that now, and mnot …