We are not set up for electric vehicles in this country

[Pollyannaatemyjelly]

We have an electric vehicle. We tend not to do too many long journeys but today it was inevitable. We have visit a very popular destination via major motorways but there is not one fast charger available on our route. I've just stopped on the M5 on what is supposed to be a dual charger (so more than one vehicle can charge) but it's not working. I've had to wait 20 minutes for the vehicle next to me to charge before I can even begin to charge mine. There is no chance this county can become all electric when the infrastructure is so poor.

Ours only cost £13000 two or more years ago. Is that really more than a petrol? I mean it’s not cheap but as cars go it didn’t seem much

Not sure what sort of EV you have but when I was looking in 2019 the one I looked at was £26K (a Corsa). My two year old hybrid Yaris cost £11K.

Your “local car” solution would result in streets being even more clogged and parking being even more of a problem than it is at the moment; the combination of free parking, permitted bus lane driving and the fact that electric vehicles (once purchased) are so cheap to fuel would result in an explosion of driving!

Urban areas in many other European countries seem to make public transport work. I suggest we stick with solutions that are actually tried and tested.

@user1477391263 Urban areas in many other European countries seem to make public transport work. I suggest we stick with solutions that are actually tried and tested.

You realise many areas have a car sharing set up and it is tried and tested?

Your theory that it would result in streets being more clogged is illogical. The point is people use privately owned vehicles for a very small portion of the time, by sharing people still have the same freedoms that driving brings but with less cars on the road.

The post that the poster originally wrote was a bit ambiguous, but it seems like she was talking about privately owned local cars, and then the car share scheme was something additional and separate:

So what we should be thinking about is a sort of 'local car' a bit like a smart car. Smaller, lighter weight, and fundamentally mich cheaper than a full car. Something which gets us to all places within 5-10 miles, but mostly local trips. All school runs, local shopping, popping round to friends etc, all done by a 'local car' And giving massive incentives for using 'local car' rather than real car. Things like free parking, use of bus lanes etc.

Then using different transport for longer trips. Either a more convential car, and using car shares, car hires, car pools of some sort, or using public transport

Having incentives like free parking and permitted driving in bus lanes for any car is going to increase driving - the studies on factors influencing driving patterns seem pretty clear about that!

(I’m very much in favor of car share schemes, for what it’s worth - they are very good s systems and popular in the city where I am. But letting people have an additional private vehicle and then letting them driving it everywhere in the bus lane and park everywhere for free is going to greatly increase the number of trips taken - the poster even talked enthusiastically about how these should be used for “local shopping” and “school runs.” Er, no. We should be encouraging active travel for this kind of stuff!)

In one post you're saying that government policy will be the death of the high street, in the next you're ranting about 15 minute neighbourhoods. Make your mind up, the whole point of 15 minute neighbourhoods is that it should be convenient to walk to the local shops rather than drive to a big box store

Most people here seem to be looking at issues with today’s technology and infrastructure and writing off ev cars without having any appreciation of the volume of r&d going on in the field of sustainable transport. Battery life, range, charging speeds and methods, battery components and production methods etc etc are going to look radically different in 10 years time - the tech is in its infancy right now.

Absolutely. There's a test road being installed now in (I think) Sweden that charges wirelessly as you drive along it. Some cars are starting to be built with solar panels on the roof, so they charge themselves all the time, whether driving or stationary. Plugging in to a fixed point charger is only 1 of many possible options.

I think it would take hours because on busy days there are queues for petrol pumps. It takes 5 minutes to fill a car with petrol and pay. It takes significantly longer to charge a car so you could be waiting a very long time.

Ah, you 'think' it will take hours. So they are imaginary queues. I see.

The infrastructure is not there. It could be with investment.
Everyone I know with an electric car has it as a second car, it is fine for this.
I knew though those talking about lots of charging points would be in london. In my city there are 35 public charging points. The rest are in pubs etc that you have to use facilities or pay for parking.
Someone on my street has anEV and illegally charges it with a cable across the pavement.
It is not true that 50% if houses have driveways.

My EV is my only car, not a second one, and I'm a very long way from London.

Car sharing is expensive. I have looked into it in my city. And people generally want to use their cars at the same kind of times as other people.

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn glad it works for you. People have even where I live too. But there are not many public charging points. You really need to be able to charge at home where I live.

Do you have a source for it not being true that 50% of people have a driveway?

This says only 1/3 don't have ine in the country as a whole (in London, 60%) www.transportxtra.com/publications/parking-review/news/66621/a-third-of-uk-homeowners-don-t-have-a-driveway-or-garage-to-install-a-home-chargepoint/

I agree that being able to charge at home is the game changer here. It’s so handy for us to start every journey with full range.
Our EV is our only car and we are pretty rural in Wiltshire.

Also free workplace parking is rare in my city. More people take public transport to work or park for free on residential streets.if you want an EV charger in my city your best bet is a pub. Fine if you like going to pubs.
My city like many is trying to avoid bankruptcy. They are not investing in anything unless someone else gives them the money.
It will change, but I would not get an EV until it does.

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn quote .e the research that comes up with that figure. I found research into 276 homes for sale on a website. Hardly representative.

75%of drivers have access to off street parking. I think this has been used to claim that is a driveway or garage.

My question was whether you had evidence for your claim.

I have e said why the report you post is wrong. There is no evidence in that report.

In England and Wales 26% of housing is terraced and 23% flats and maisonettes.
Public charging points are essential for a large EV ownership.

So how do only a third of houses not have driveways? It defies the reality. About 50% can't have driveways. And not all semi detached houses have driveways either.
It needs investment.

I think EVs have some way to go before they are the solution we all think they are. The batteries are horribly harmful, the braking systems release more pollutants than petrol/diesel cars, etc. However, I think they're here to stay and one big change will be that all new homes are built with EV charging points and all workplaces above a certain size with car parks will be mandated to have them too. Considering how many journeys are short distance or commute only, I think that will take care of a huge proportion. The biggest challenge is ensuring a universal charger.

@Estermay - but many flats, maisonettes and terrace houses also have driveways.

Our last flat in London had huge underground parking for it (even though we didn’t have a car at the time). My parents live in a 1900s terrace house, with 6 houses in block. At the end, down a small side passage is shared parking area for all 6 houses, a car charger has been recently added (cost divided by 6 houses wasn’t much each. And my parents don’t even own a car either, but happy to have for friends and family visiting).
These are all small houses or flats, not fancy area.

You made the claim that it's 'not true that 50% have driveways' before I posted the article as a counterexample. (not evidence, but assertion against assertion). Now you are saying it is about 50%.

I think it's quite possible you are correct in one of those claims, but I don't accept unevidenced assertions.

It will help, but only a bit. Most of our housing stock is old. Lots of cities ate doing all they can to get rid of workplace car parks through charging to encourage public transport use. The big workplace car parks of the past are disappearing in my city.
It needs public charging points in the same way we have public petrol pumps.
And for all those to take no more than 10 minutes.
Maybe it could be funded through a much higher road tax on suvs.

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn you claimed in a report you posted two third of houses ha e a driveway. I posted evidence that it is physically impossible for about half of dwellings to have a driveway. That does not equate to half of all other dwellings have driveways. We know many don't.
We need to deal in facts if we want people to drive EVs, not made up stats.