You were unlucky. There are very few chargers on the CPS network that have overstay fees for such a short time. My local ones are free and have no limit whatsoever. I also routinely get mid 40s kW which is enough to give me circa 45% additional charge in an LR in 45 minutes.
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Charge Place Scotland Tariffs by Council
- Thread starter Medved_77
- Start date
He wasn't unlucky, he was on the NC500. The 45 minute limit is for all chargers provided by the highlands council. Which is pretty much all of them on the NC500 with the exception of the toll bridge on Skye and the the John O Groats Gridserve.
The highland council tend to have older units which operate at 32-37kw in my experience, which makes it worse.
The CPS prices are very reasonable, which also stifles competition IMHO.
Sorry I should have quoted this part of his earlier post:
CPS network is not just the chargers in Highland Council.
Edit: Actually there are quite a few chargers on the CPS network that are not owned by Highland Council on the NC500 route that don't have the 45min limit
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Fair to say that not all CPS are highlands council. My experiences elsewhere weren't overly positive. Was great to turn up to dundee on a low charge and find that the CCS 50kw charger is actually chademo (Reported, still not fixed).
There is also a few harbour trusts and the torridon, but the majority of the chargers actually on the NC500 are highlands counci.
Katic1972
Member
Cps is falling to bits where I am, although free (for the time being) the 50kw chargers are often out of service. The guys running around fixing them must be making a killing on overtime, assuming they have anyway decent contracts. Though most likely swarco pare everything back to the bone to try and turn a profit.
Comms board failures, card reader faults and units out of warranty period seem to be plaguing the network.
It really needs investment and either faster more reliable chargers installed or more chargers installed if they are to meet demand in years to come. It’s all a bit of a shambles.
Comms board failures, card reader faults and units out of warranty period seem to be plaguing the network.
It really needs investment and either faster more reliable chargers installed or more chargers installed if they are to meet demand in years to come. It’s all a bit of a shambles.
I completely agree it's a fantastic idea but falls badly short on Maintenance, as almost all the Chargers are out of Warranty repairs are chargeable and need to be approved by Hosts typically Local Authorities and we all know how they operate. I wrote to the Scottish Transport Secretary months ago suggesting that they centralise the Maintenance and Budget with Swarko and got a reply from some flunky completely ignoring my point.
It could be a world leader but not the way they run it at present.
Glasgow did plan to introduce charges to recoup some of the cost - and hopefully fund maintenance - but that got canned for some reason or other. (just) Outside of Glasgow I've rarely had problems with my 2 local charge areas. Both have 2 Rapid chargers and almost always (network faults aside) both of them are working. There are also multiple 22kw chargers that are barely used, so there's always plenty of them free.
Katic1972
Member
I really can’t knock the free miles that’s for sure, and, when they work the system is pretty damned good.
My local 50kw was out of action for about 6 weeks though due to warranty issues. It went back into service and lasted three further weeks before biting the dust again. There are still 7kw are 22kw around mind you sadly the tend to promote people plugging up and leaving their cars for a long period sometimes all day.
Can’t imagine how the taxi drivers in the area are putting up with it. Their downtime must cost them a fortune.
Investment in the network is the answer though. Especially in areas where home charging isn’t really an option.
My local 50kw was out of action for about 6 weeks though due to warranty issues. It went back into service and lasted three further weeks before biting the dust again. There are still 7kw are 22kw around mind you sadly the tend to promote people plugging up and leaving their cars for a long period sometimes all day.
Can’t imagine how the taxi drivers in the area are putting up with it. Their downtime must cost them a fortune.
Investment in the network is the answer though. Especially in areas where home charging isn’t really an option.
A very handy charging location just before the Skye Bridge on the mainland side. (Pity the CCS seems to be reported as faulty at the moment.) Though CPC call the location "Toll Office" ... it's not signposted as such* and presently has a sign outside referring to "The Plock" "Kyle's Community Parkland".Nice modern charging unit, and somewhere to walk / picnic while it's charging
*presumably because it hasn't been a toll office for 18 years ... the bridge itself just being known as the Skye Bridge.
Nice modern charging unit, and somewhere to walk / picnic while it's charging
Strangely ZapMap doesn't show the other CPS rapid at Kyle of Lochalsh Leisure centre ... and there's also one at Kyleakin just on the other side of the Skye bridge. Good to have a cluster of 3 so close to each other in case one or more is out of action.
Darn, going to have to pay for charging now. Ah well 2 years free fuel was not to be sniffed at and I think the current rates are cheaper than my soon to be domestic rate.
chargeplacescotland.org
1st November Tariff Update - Charge Place Scotland
The following charge point owners have taken the decision to introduce or update their charging tariff to ensure their charging estate can be maintained, remain accessible and financially sustainable. Allowing
chargeplacescotland.org
MrBadger
Badger out
I’m not likely to use these chargers so no vested interest, but in interest of wide spread adoption, it’s good to see the overstay fees being more than just a nominal sum.
ACarneiro
Active Member
Trying to understand the rationale behind a “connection fee”.
What cost is there to plug the charger in as such? Seems to mostly penalise people using the charger for shorter charges…
What cost is there to plug the charger in as such? Seems to mostly penalise people using the charger for shorter charges…
Admin charge per use probably.
It will usually be for a place with a charger installed and the credit card cost is the main admin cost, then accounting for the transaction- if they are not a big establishment.
They will usually be paying a set fee per transaction on credit cards, and it can vary depending on which card a person uses - but the site won’t know until the bill comes in.
It will usually be for a place with a charger installed and the credit card cost is the main admin cost, then accounting for the transaction- if they are not a big establishment.
They will usually be paying a set fee per transaction on credit cards, and it can vary depending on which card a person uses - but the site won’t know until the bill comes in.
CPS is charged by Direct Debit monthly. I think the admin largely gov funded.
Short of "contactor cycles", not sure why a connection fee is needed - most don't charge it.
