A positive article on EV motoring from the Beeb!

[stonecoldrmw]

Why it's the end of the road for petrol stations

Many petrol stations will close over the next 20 years, accelerating the shift to electric cars.

www.bbc.co.uk

Interesting article showing the death of the diesel/petrol station as we transition to EVs. I like it!

 

[NeilG40]

It's a positive they no longer feel the need to use a stock photo of a G-Wiz in every electric car article.

 

[Dunstan]

Why it's the end of the road for petrol stations

Many petrol stations will close over the next 20 years, accelerating the shift to electric cars.

www.bbc.co.uk

Interesting article showing the death of the diesel/petrol station as we transition to EVs. I like it!

Wow, did you see the comments below the line. The usual stuff from people who can't think backwards and forwards in time and imagine that 2031 wil be exactly like now.

My grandfather was an architect. My grandmother remembered him, in the 1960s, at the scene of a fire at a combined garage and petrol station, advising the fire crews on where the undreground tanks were so they could keep them cool. It is a testament to safety engineering that disasters with oil wells and tankers and refineries and road tankers and petrol stations and crashed cars are so rare today.

I see parallels between petrochemical motoring and film photography: companies that diversify like Fujifilm will survive and grow; companies that focus on their traditional strengths like Kodak will decline and die, or survive in name only as niche players.

As for me, I'm glad I've made my last visit to a petrol station. Retail specialists refer to it as a "distress purchase" - an expensive and unpleasant experience you only go through because you have to.

 

[TestPilot]

Wow, did you see the comments below the line. The usual stuff from people who can't think backwards and forwards in time and imagine that 2031 wil be exactly like now.

My grandfather was an architect. My grandmother remembered him, in the 1960s, at the scene of a fire at a combined garage and petrol station, advising the fire crews on where the undreground tanks were so they could keep them cool. It is a testament to safety engineering that disasters with oil wells and tankers and refineries and road tankers and petrol stations and crashed cars are so rare today.

I see parallels between petrochemical motoring and film photography: companies that diversify like Fujifilm will survive and grow; companies that focus on their traditional strengths like Kodak will decline and die, or survive in name only as niche players.

As for me, I'm glad I've made my last visit to a petrol station. Retail specialists refer to it as a "distress purchase" - an expensive and unpleasant experience you only go through because you have to.

I dipped into the comment section for a moment, and remembered why I'm so very selective about my engagement with other people on the internet...

 

[Dilly]

The sad reality is that ‘charging for everyone’ is still going to be a nightmare. There certainly is capacity and a lot of the underlying infrastructure is in place, but no-one has factored in the mindless vandalism which will certainly follow, let alone the unneighbourly disputes about charging spots in inner city terraced streets. Hopefully there will be sufficient ‘splash & dash” sites and by that time charging times will have plummeted.
You just have think that nationwide high-speed broadband ain’t finished yet!

 

[Drew57]

Yes, there's a very long way to go although almost everyone I meet that asks about the car seems genuinely interested & positive unlike the negative and misinformed comments below the BBC article.

However suggesting that businesses may offer free charging in a similar vein to wifi was bound to prompt scorn. Wifi is a relatively low cost, fixed monthly outlay but energy usage is neither. It's all very well supermarkets, shopping centres, councils and others doing this during the early adopter phase but that will surely fade as EVs become more mainstream, alongside a need for central government to replace fuel tax revenue.

Having benefited from OLEV, PICG, free local charging, low occupancy superchargers, referrals, very low running costs & other incentives we will probably look back on these first few years as a golden age of EV ownership.

 

[DigbyChicken]

I dipped into the comment section for a moment, and remembered why I'm so very selective about my engagement with other people on the internet...

Do not look below the line. Do not look below the line. Do not lo-

Dammit, I couldn't resist. (And felt my IQ dropping with every comment.)

 

[Jason71]

Do not look below the line. Do not look below the line. Do not lo-

Dammit, I couldn't resist. (And felt my IQ dropping with every comment.)

One stream deviated into a discussion on Hydrogen with the Liberal use of the terms "blue hydrogen" and "green hydrogen" leading to one person to post :

"Hydrogen is colourless, no?"

 

[Jason71]

Do not look below the line. Do not look below the line. Do not lo-

Dammit, I couldn't resist. (And felt my IQ dropping with every comment.)

"If you don't fully charge on each re-charge you will see more rapid deterioration of your EV batteries..."

 

[SunnyM3]

Yes, there's a very long way to go although almost everyone I meet that asks about the car seems genuinely interested & positive unlike the negative and misinformed comments below the BBC article.

However suggesting that businesses may offer free charging in a similar vein to wifi was bound to prompt scorn. Wifi is a relatively low cost, fixed monthly outlay but energy usage is neither. It's all very well supermarkets, shopping centres, councils and others doing this during the early adopter phase but that will surely fade as EVs become more mainstream, alongside a need for central government to replace fuel tax revenue.

Having benefited from OLEV, PICG, free local charging, low occupancy superchargers, referrals, very low running costs & other incentives we will probably look back on these first few years as a golden age of EV ownership.

I work with someone who operates holiday apartments on the coast in the UK. He's looking at installing an EV charger but doesn't want it to get abused. Would £10 per charge seem a reasonable cost via an rfid card system or similar? He thinks that covers the cost of electricity, installation of charge point and administering the charge payments etc.

 

[Peter 224]

Petrol stations have been disappearing for years, especially on A roads. They will still be around in 20 years, but it will be legacy ICE car drivers that have range anxiety..and carry a 5L can of petrol as a reserve...

We have 2 other ICE cars, I can see one going in a few years, but the Morgan Plus 8 will go when I shuffle off into a memory.

 

[bryand]

£10 for a charge would be a total rip-off, and guarantee nobody uses it.

 

[Drew57]

£10 for a charge would be a total rip-off, and guarantee nobody uses it.

Not necessarily, my Daughter owns several overnight rental properties in California and Idaho, each has a Tesla destination charger and the charge is $15 up-front per stay* if they indicate they will use and she then unlocks remotely. Tesla owners stay regularly and most say that this was a positive factor in choosing vs other rentals.

(*... per stay not per charge though)

 

[Jason71]

I work with someone who operates holiday apartments on the coast in the UK. He's looking at installing an EV charger but doesn't want it to get abused. Would £10 per charge seem a reasonable cost via an rfid card system or similar? He thinks that covers the cost of electricity, installation of charge point and administering the charge payments etc.

depends on the size of the charge. I appreciate that you cannot charge per kw or not at a profit anyway but the £10 per charge could be a bargain for a P100d but not so much for an MX 30.
the other options are pence per kw at cost + a connection fee.
or charge by the hour

or just charge per kwh at cost and consider the installation a loss leader on attracting customers

 

[Adopado]

I work with someone who operates holiday apartments on the coast in the UK. He's looking at installing an EV charger but doesn't want it to get abused. Would £10 per charge seem a reasonable cost via an rfid card system or similar? He thinks that covers the cost of electricity, installation of charge point and administering the charge payments etc.

Too much variation for people charging to have a fixed £10 ... bad deal for many and maybe good deal for the odd one or two. I agree with @Jason71 that charging at cost per kWh would be the way to go. They need to ensure people move the car when finished, so some degree of "policing" will be required. I don't know all the charge points that handily note their usage ... probably most? I know my Zappi does but there may well be cheaper options. It should attract business ... and, as we know, all EV drivers are thoroughly nice folk ... (well maybe ... )

 

[TestPilot]

I work with someone who operates holiday apartments on the coast in the UK. He's looking at installing an EV charger but doesn't want it to get abused. Would £10 per charge seem a reasonable cost via an rfid card system or similar? He thinks that covers the cost of electricity, installation of charge point and administering the charge payments etc.

If it were me, I’d consider an honesty jar for charging and see how it goes. I would like to think that people will generally over pay… I know I would.

 

[stonecoldrmw]

I work with someone who operates holiday apartments on the coast in the UK. He's looking at installing an EV charger but doesn't want it to get abused. Would £10 per charge seem a reasonable cost via an rfid card system or similar? He thinks that covers the cost of electricity, installation of charge point and administering the charge payments etc.

I would say, just at the extra cost in to the rental and make it free to use. More appealing I think.

 

[Llama.]

I like seeing EV articles in mainstream publications.

The tipping point is interesting to see happening. I think we are at that point now in terms of total cost over 5 years of ownership compared to ICE cars and not too far off with charging infrastructure.

I thought the part about the death spiral of petrol stations added some new points to the discussion, but much of the article seemed to be a summary of what we already know written by someone who is just learning about EVs. The enthusiastic, rosy picture was bound to generate loads of negativity from people who just can’t agree with this perspective yet.

Those very negative comments at the end are the real story here for me. We may be at an EV value tipping point, and a charging availability tipping point my be very soon too. But when will we get to the ‘EV positivity’ tipping point, when more people are positive about EVs than not?

I’ve been keeping my eye on this and clearly we’re not there yet.

Which was why I posted this thread a while back:

Hostility to the transition to EVs?

Moderator comment - thread originally started in The UK and Ireland sub forum I know that this is a forum of EV owners so maybe this is a bit of an echo chamber for those of us who like EVs, but I’ve recently become aware of some very strong views from family and social media who sound a bit...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[No.4.char]

I work with someone who operates holiday apartments on the coast in the UK. He's looking at installing an EV charger but doesn't want it to get abused. Would £10 per charge seem a reasonable cost via an rfid card system or similar? He thinks that covers the cost of electricity, installation of charge point and administering the charge payments etc.

I recently water a Fully Charged+ YouTube interview with founder of a firm called 'Co Charger' who provide the software and billing facilities to enable people to effectively let out their own charging points. This could offer an alternative route for offering EV charging for holiday lets...

 

[HenryT]

I would say, just at the extra cost in to the rental and make it free to use. More appealing I think.

I'd agree with that. Worse case scenario is it could cost you say £10 a day, but then who goes to a holiday destination to drive 300 miles a day anyway?

Alternatively, if there is a desire to have a discrete cost, offer it a £10 per stay with unlimited use.