The owner of an electric car has accused a council of not doing enough to support drivers like him.
John Coulthard, 62, said he is reliant on public charging spaces – but often finds those in Brighton are already occupied by hybrid cars.
He said: “They don’t give any thought to where they park their cars, and there is no space left for electric cars, unfortunately.
“When I visit somewhere like Asda down at the marina, there are only four designated charging spaces for electric vehicles, and every one of them is filled with a hybrid.
“The issue is that while cars with hybrid engines can be topped up at petrol stations, electric cars can only be charged at designated charging stations.
“But the council don’t do anything about this – they have not done anything to give electric vehicles priority access to these spaces and there simply isn’t the infrastructure at the moment to accommodate this.”
Freelance writer Mr Coulthard, of Walpole Terrace, Brighton, said the city council’s approach to the issue was detrimental to people who might otherwise buy an electric vehicle.
He owns a Nissan Leaf and said: “There will undoubtedly be a shift towards greater ownership of electric vehicles in the next few years and at this rate things are only going to get worse.”
Electric Brighton is a community initiative to promote the use of electric cars in the city.
It said half its registered drivers are unable to charge their electric vehicles from their own homes, meaning they need to use charging spaces in the community.
This is despite electric vehicle ownership across Brighton and Hove increasing tenfold since 2014, with 428 drivers owning electric vehicles according to figures from the start of the year.
The car park at Churchill Square has 1,600 spaces – of those, ten are designated as electric car charging points.
A council spokesman said: “Public electric charge points are available to hybrid vehicles as well as 100 per cent electric vehicles.
“This is because it is better for the city for hybrids to be driven around in electric mode.
“The council is committed to increasing the number of electric vehicle chargers in the city with a mixture of rapid and slow chargers to suit the needs of residents and visitors to the city.”
Electric vehicle ownership is continuing to grow in the UK. There is now a record 195,410 plug-in vehicles on UK roads, after plug-in registrations increased by 76.6% last year, according to new Motorparc data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The story above from Brighton is becoming more common around the UK as supply is currently lower than demand. Additionally, the inaccessibility of Vehicle Charging Points is a major contributing factor in people’s decision not to go electric just yet according to WhatCar in 2018.
Consequently, we believe this is a perfect opportunity for Electricians to gain the qualifications needed for the upcoming demand for charging points that could be heading in their direction.
Technique Learning Solutions are offering the City & Guilds 2919-01 Level 3 Award In Domestic, Commercial and Industrial Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment Installation training course which will enable you to install the charging points.
The qualification aims to provide expert guidance to learners wishing to gain knowledge and understanding on Electric Vehicle charging equipment installation.
Aimed at experienced electricians interested in understanding a wide range of equipment and systems available, this course (C&G 2919-01) applies to the specialised installation requirements of electric vehicle charging equipment in domestic dwellings, on-street locations, commercial and industrial premises.
The course provides detailed guidance and recommendations on all aspects of the installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment from the origin of the electrical supply, through distribution and final circuits, installation of the charging equipment itself to the cable between the charging equipment and vehicle’s electrical inlet. Also included are related issues of site layout and planning and subsequent inspection, testing, certification and maintenance of installations.
This qualification, also allows you to receive funding as part of the OLEV-EV car grant scheme.
For more information or to book your place on the course, please visit:
https://learntechnique.com/course/2919-01-electric-vehicle-charging-equipment/
