29 February - How popular are Bexley’s EV chargers?
The post bag and Twitter comments suggest that Bexley’s 13 new electric car
chargers and the consequent loss of 26 parking spaces right outside Post
Office’s and Dentist’s Surgeries etc. are not very popular among the general
population. Bexley Council said that the sites were chosen because the parking bays were little used. That simply isn’t true.
Today’s phone screenshots obtained by interrogating the chargers via
their web interfaces suggest they are not yet of much use to electric vehicle owners either.
One or two were in use yesterday and Danson Lane said it was last available two
weeks ago but did not give a last charge date. I’m not absolutely sure what that message means.
As an EV owner I do of course welcome the recognition that the number of
electric vehicles on the road is increasing at a much greater rate than any
other class of vehicle - but from a very low base line. Why anyone would use the
Picardy Street charger I have no idea when the same thing is available at
Sainsbury’s a mile away at no charge. Two Nissans, a Renault, a Hyundai, a Tesla
and a Black Cab (hybrid) were seen there charging today leaving another six charging points available.
Not used for up to a week or Out of Order for two weeks.