Written evidence from Anonymous (ELV0003)
10th August 2023
Uk Government
Dear Sirs
EV user feedback.
Further to publication of your request for user feedback, my comments are noted below.
I am a recent adopter of EV transport having bought my first EV 3 weeks ago and in that time had 10 public charging experiences, and on most of these I have experienced a complication.
As I live in a rural location, address above, I bought a BMW i3 REX which has an electric range of 120 miles and a small generator to keep the car going in event of running out of electricity and thus I don’t suffer from Range Anxiety.
I have been disappointed to find that although my rural address is eligible for Energy Saving Trust grant of £400 towards cost of home charger installation, my REX model of i3 is not eligible, I understand due to the small on board generator producing exhaust emissions when operating. Surely a more appropriate test would be the question of does the car have a cable charging facility. Disappointing to have no government financial assistance whatsoever in my switch to EV.
The public place charging strategy seems to be based on an assumption users will stay in or close to their cars when charging on slow chargers. This I think is unrealistic for other than enthusiastic early adopters. I really don’t see people being willing to sit for hours in random locations in their charging cars before continuing their journey. To achieve the 2030 Government deadline on petrol cars, the Government needs to orchestrate the creation of a public charging network to emulate the exemplar Tesla ultra fast, ultra reliable easy to operate charging network and to impose cost limitations to max the same cost as petrol equivalent (currently approx 60p/ kwh), and preferably subject to price cap matching Tesla pricing (currently 52p/ kwh). The current government strategy of leaving the job to be done by local authorities and private enterprise simply won’t work.
My experience of public charging is very disappointing in terms of:
• Limited number of locations. I invariably need to make a significant detour to a place I don’t want to go to reach a charger and find myself in very inhospitable locations e.g. parked on a pile of gravel inconveniently located beside the ChargePlace Scotland Camaghael Hostel in Fort William. Could the Scottish Government engage with private enterprise such as I heard on radio recently with innovative solutions for quick roll out of public charging points. Marcus Brooks: https://www.ournet.energy/
• Complexity of restrictions
e.g. 1. Yesterday I was on ChargePlace Scotland Musselburgh Sports Centre car park, max stay time on charger 45 mins on a 50kw charger which does not give me a full charge in 45 mins. This requires me to return early to come out to move my car and I then need to go to find another charger to complete my charge. Really not very practical. Really not an encouragement to persevere with EV. Surely the aim must be to allow a car to achieve full charge on a single sitting. Answer = rapid chargers so charging can be complete in 20/ 30 mins and move car away.
e.g. 2 Broxden park & ride. This seemed like a great arrangement. On line I read ‘up to 72 hours free parking’. So I park my car at the charger and leave it charging up and take the bus to my destination and return later in the day to find there is a parking time restriction on the charger and as a result I have incurred a £10 overstay charge. Not an encouragement to use public transport. Not an encouragement to persevere with EV. Surely the aim must be to create sufficient charging spaces allowing a car to be parked whilst the driver takes the bus to another place and returns later rather than sitting in the car whilst charging OR rapid charger allowing full charge in 20/ 30 mins max.
• Complexity of methods of activation/ payment: I have 3 plastic cards and 10 apps on my phone which seems to cover most options. This needs to be simplified. Tesla offer the exemplar.
• In many places, high cost. e.g. the ChargePlace Scotland charger I was on yesterday is 70p/kWh. That’s more than my calculation of the equivalent of petrol cost which is 60p/ kwh, 2.5 x my electricity day rate at home, 20 x my night electricity rate at home. Really not an encouragement to persevere with EV on journeys outwith range from home. I have had one free charge at Mortonhall Garden Centre without parking time restriction which was of course most welcome. I would encourage the UK and Scottish Government to create a price cap on the charges made at charge points e.g. equivalent to petrol, currently 60p, and ideally capped at Tesla charge rate (currently 52p/kWh.)
I am able to install a charger at home. Many terrace homes do not have this facility. I suggest every local authority with terrace houses needs to adopt the technology offered by Trojan energy (as featured on recent BBC prog https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0fzlswg. mark@trojanenergyltd.com. For the millions of cars owned by residents in flatted properties, access needs to be created to plentiful public charge points.
Right now my advice to others who requires journeys from home beyond the range of their car is to delay and be late adopters of EV OR to buy a Tesla due to their an impressive charging network with reasonable prices. If the charging network improves dramatically, maybe late adopters will have a better experience.
Currently I am considering an early switch back to petrol due to the reliable, predictable and plentiful refuelling opportunities available creating dependable Independant travel.
Author details provided at time of submission. Author details not to be published