Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

[Count Steer]

People that can’t afford the new autonomous transport will move back to big cities in droves.

And then die of whatever happens to be the next pandemic.

Well, that's quite tidy.

[asmethurst99]

Sounds more like a rant against the generic ineptitude of public/private partnerships than anything against EVs in particular

I like EV’s

[asmethurst99]

Two of the four charging posts at work have been out of action for 4 weeks now - no news on when they will be fixed.

Are they works own charge points or someone else’s ? Do they charge you for the electric ? Who maintains them ? What size are they ?

They are in our staff car park - we got electric cars for some teams 2 years ago (physio/resp nurse outreach and our specialist resp team) Quite a few staff have electric hybrid vehicles as well so they are for everyone with an electric car not just the hospital vehicles
Normal slow charge.
They are/were branded BP but I think a different company looks after them.
One of the problems is they sometimes can’t connect as they are 2G and there’s a blind spot.
The problem according to the estates manager is getting someone to own the problem - hardware maintenance is sub contracted out and no matter what we say it takes ages for anything to be fixed.The telephone helpline is useless.

I think we get a “special rate” on the electricity but don’t quote me.

[MrLongbeard]

I think we get a “special rate” on the electricity but don’t quote me.

[Couchy]

Two of the four charging posts at work have been out of action for 4 weeks now - no news on when they will be fixed.

Are they works own charge points or someone else’s ? Do they charge you for the electric ? Who maintains them ? What size are they ?

They are in our staff car park - we got electric cars for some teams 2 years ago (physio/resp nurse outreach and our specialist resp team) Quite a few staff have electric hybrid vehicles as well so they are for everyone with an electric car not just the hospital vehicles
Normal slow charge.
They are/were branded BP but I think a different company looks after them.
One of the problems is they sometimes can’t connect as they are 2G and there’s a blind spot.
The problem according to the estates manager is getting someone to own the problem - hardware maintenance is sub contracted out and no matter what we say it takes ages for anything to be fixed.The telephone helpline is useless.

We install a lot for BP. Problem is most places after the guarantee period won’t take up a maintenance contract which may be what’s happened in your case especially if they are local authority or NHS.

[asmethurst99]

Are they works own charge points or someone else’s ? Do they charge you for the electric ? Who maintains them ? What size are they ?

They are in our staff car park - we got electric cars for some teams 2 years ago (physio/resp nurse outreach and our specialist resp team) Quite a few staff have electric hybrid vehicles as well so they are for everyone with an electric car not just the hospital vehicles
Normal slow charge.
They are/were branded BP but I think a different company looks after them.
One of the problems is they sometimes can’t connect as they are 2G and there’s a blind spot.
The problem according to the estates manager is getting someone to own the problem - hardware maintenance is sub contracted out and no matter what we say it takes ages for anything to be fixed.The telephone helpline is useless.

We install a lot for BP. Problem is most places after the guarantee period won’t take up a maintenance contract which may be what’s happened in your case especially if they are local authority or NHS.

This sounds familiar from previous problems according to the estates manager (I checked this Morning they are badged BP pulse)
People won't buy them if the infrastructure isn't there

[MyLittleStudPony]

If I had one...

Why don't you have one?
You've just bought a new car, why not an EV?

I have nowhere to plug one in.

[Taipan]

If I had one...

Why don't you have one?
You've just bought a new car, why not an EV?

I have nowhere to plug one in.

/end of thread...

[Felix]

Why don't you have one?
You've just bought a new car, why not an EV?

I have nowhere to plug one in.

/end of thread...

100% the end. Where they are most practical (In the city) most folk cant have the chargers for them as its a long cable down tenement stair cases then across a pavement to get to the car. I was renting a tenement flat in Edinburgh around 98/99 where we had 20 houses in the stairwell. That is a lot of cables running out into the streets of the folk can afford it all in the first place.

[Potter]

It’s the great reset, only the rich will own personal transport.
It’s the end of the golden era.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Two people on my street park EVs outside their houses not plugged in and have done for a few years. So clearly they're not just for people who can charge at home.

Freely admit MK is further down the infrastructure path than nearly anywhere else, but it's demonstrably possible cause my neighbours have done it for years, like I say.

[Dodgy69]

They may charge at work if their lucky, on the free.

Just to add... was talking to a Tesla rep the other day, he had 165000 miles on it, just pads and tyres. Still got a terrible interior though. I asked him about cold weather, he said ye, it kills the range.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Absolutely.

But they're still people who don't charge their cars at home and yet survive. Something which is supposedly impossible according to some.

At the end of the day even if you do 25,000 miles a year your car is stationary ~90% of the time. If you're an average mileage driver it's >95%. So there must surely be some time in their somewhere when you can charge it.

[Count Steer]

Absolutely.

But they're still people who don't charge their cars at home and yet survive. Something which is supposedly impossible according to some.

At the end of the day even if you do 25,000 miles a year your car is stationary ~90% of the time. If you're an average mileage driver it's >95%. So there must surely be some time in their somewhere when you can charge it.

At a price? If you have to use commercial chargers all the time don't the economics look a bit

[Mr. Dazzle]

As with all things there is nuance to every situation. The economics are complicated and people seldom compare apples with apples.

For example my dad commented that it costs 30p/kWh to charge in part of MK, so parking in the 7kW space would cost you just over 2 quid an hour. He thought that was unreasonable.

Parking in a conventional space in the same part of town costs £2.50 an hour and you don't get any fuel thrown in.

[Couchy]

As with all things there is nuance to every situation. The economics are complicated and people seldom compare apples with apples.

For example my dad commented that it costs 30p/kWh to charge in part of MK, so parking in the 7kW space would cost you just over 2 quid an hour. He thought that was unreasonable.

Parking in a conventional space in the same part of town costs £2.50 an hour and you don't get any fuel thrown in.

Charging away from home is an expensive lottery, anywhere from 40p to £1 a kw. With an average of 3 miles travelled per kw it’s expensive even compared to diesel.

But people seem obsessed an EV should cost less. If money is the issue you buy a few year old diesel car. EV are great for moving pollution to one more easily controlled area and out of the cities.

I’ve still not heard a solution for the 1000’s of people driving £2k cars who can’t get finance and need their cars to get to work.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Out of my four grandparents only one had a driving licence. None of them were old enough to fight in WW2 either. My MiL can't drive.

I.e. everyone having a car is a relatively recent thing. Society will change. I don't think fewer cars on the road is a bad thing.

[Kneerly Down]

For example my dad commented that it costs 30p/kWh to charge in part of MK, so parking in the 7kW space would cost you just over 2 quid an hour. He thought that was unreasonable.

Fairly sure if I charge with my new Shell card it's 79p/kWh. Quite a few of the other networks are now over 70p/kWh and some have breached the £1 mark.

I could charge for free at the main office, apart from those who come in from nearer are plugged in when I arrive and all are generally occupied until I leave.

I've got plenty of space at home for chargers so no problem there, but I when I went down to my son in Edinburgh all the chargers on the way down were either busy or out of order and then when I arrived he's in one of the old tenement blocks with no chance of getting a cable down to the car, even if I strike lucky and can park within 50yds of the door.
Thankfully my old EV is a RE-EV so I just go over to using petrol.

[Couchy]

For example my dad commented that it costs 30p/kWh to charge in part of MK, so parking in the 7kW space would cost you just over 2 quid an hour. He thought that was unreasonable.

Fairly sure if I charge with my new Shell card it's 79p/kWh. Quite a few of the other networks are now over 70p/kWh and some have breached the £1 mark.

I could charge for free at the main office, apart from those who come in from nearer are plugged in when I arrive and all are generally occupied until I leave.

I've got plenty of space at home for chargers so no problem there, but I when I went down to my son in Edinburgh all the chargers on the way down were either busy or out of order and then when I arrived he's in one of the old tenement blocks with no chance of getting a cable down to the car, even if I strike lucky and can park within 50yds of the door.
Thankfully my old EV is a RE-EV so I just go over to using petrol.

The latest energy cost increase will hit the EV market, paying 30p a mile is double what a diesel car costs without the extra lease or purchase cost. It’s gonna be interesting to see if it affects sales

[Count Steer]

Interesting comment on the radio this morning. Roughly 15% of the energy use of a typical household is electricity - but it's now half the cost. As long as that remains anything like true and battery cars stay at a hefty premium it surely puts a crimp on demand for them. (Or until they penalise/tax petrol even more).

(They did a similar thing to subsidise nuclear power years ago - put a levy on gas to make electricity look cheaper).

As far as government is concerned if people charge the battery cars at home the electricity cost is capped/subsidised so they don't just lose the tax on fuel and the car tax, they actually use taxes to keep the cost down. Enthusiasm might dwindle a bit there too until they can claw more back and/or start kicking petrol/diesel cars off the road.

It's starting to look like it only makes sense if you have home charging, solar panels and a power wall!