travel to London, charge while parked.

[nigeldodd]

I have read some of the other threads about parking and charging in London, however I am after a simple solution that will allow me to drive in to London from Cheltenham, park my M3 somewhere close to the museums in South Kensington and pick it up in the late afternoon fully charged for the drive home.

Is there such a solution, please?

 

[btc1k]

Justpark website - search filter EV charging

 

[Jason71]

I have read some of the other threads about parking and charging in London, however I am after a simple solution that will allow me to drive in to London from Cheltenham, park my M3 somewhere close to the museums in South Kensington and pick it up in the late afternoon fully charged for the drive home.

Is there such a solution, please?

I looked at something similar last year and came to the conclusion that I was better off supercharging. I used parkbee ( similar to justpark) to prebook a space and the carparks with chargers were expensive so I just went with the best value and supercharged on the journey.
recommend prebooking though either way

 

[Reddom]

there are a number of source london points nearby where the expensive per minute charging includes parking, ive used these for that purpose ( I have membership which reduces the cost to about 29p/kwh on the 7kw ones) you can only book them within 40mins of a stay so need a backup plan, I've never had a problem finding one, but perhaps things are busier now.

 

[nigeldodd]

Thanks for all the replies so far. It seems like a business opportunity for somebody. The appeal of driving with my family at a time to suit us to central London without congestion charges etc. is quite a pull.

 

[tomorrowman]

If your LR it should easily do it without charging (based on my recent 220 mile trip with 35% remaining at destination (I am making assumption you can charge at home).

Otherwise a quick 10-15min topup at a supercharger on way back

 

[MrBadger]

The appeal of driving with my family at a time to suit us to central London without congestion charges etc. is quite a pull.

Congestion charging is still payable during the day unless previously registered as exempt - a process that still costs.

London TfL Congestion Charge / AutoPay

Moderator comment - related thread from "TFL, AutoPay registration required?" merged I can see I can apply for a discount You can apply for a discount online, but you'll need to supply certain documents to show you're entitled to the discount. Documents you need to provide? You will need to...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[nigeldodd]

Thanks for the information. Yes, it would be too much to ask for automatic number-plate recognition and a lookup table of pure electric vehicles. That would employ fewer people.

Mine is a standard range plus, so I would need to charge.

It would be nice to have managed parking and charging in central London for a modest cost. But it seems we don't have that yet.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[hingus2000]

The answer really already exists in the form of Source London. Yes, it’s expensive but the spots tend to be in premium locations and it is no more expensive than parking would be anyway.

I don’t think I’ve ever gone anywhere in central London that isn’t within 5 mins of a Source spot.

 

[Dilly]

The cost and availability of London parking these days makes me feel really old. (Bug**r. I am!)
I worked near Regents Park in the 70’s and parked all day for free in the outer circle.
i expect that these days, by 9am you wouldn’t find a space anyway.!

 

[tgoldsmith]

Personally, I'd just focus on getting the right parking for you without worrying about a charge. As I'm sure you know, there is no such thing as modest cost parking, especially in west London..

Depending on the way you are planning to go, I'd also suggest the supercharging route. I have an LR, but I think an SR+ will still be more than fine with getting to south Ken via Oxford A40/M40. On the way back, you can stop at the Park Royal supercharger and top up quickly at the 250kw stands and be on your way home. You'll also go by it on the way down if you are desperate, but its a pain to get to as you have to pass the location, sit at a long light to cross the central reservation, charge, and then drive away from London to turn around at a roundabout again..

 

[Cardo]

Or park in Westfield, hook up to a destination charger and get the tube/bus from there.

 

[Neilio]

Source london is definitely your friend. It's my go to whenever I have to go into town

 

[mmk357]

Congestion charging is still payable during the day unless previously registered as exempt - a process that still costs.

London TfL Congestion Charge / AutoPay

Moderator comment - related thread from "TFL, AutoPay registration required?" merged I can see I can apply for a discount You can apply for a discount online, but you'll need to supply certain documents to show you're entitled to the discount. Documents you need to provide? You will need to...

teslamotorsclub.com

Congestion charge zone doesn't extend as far west as South Ken

 

[gangzoom]

Why not just get the train and tube it to the museums?

 

[pgkevet]

Why not just get the train and tube it to the museums?

Probably the only practical solution these days - or at least drive from home to a railway station nearer London and do the rest from there.
The days of London being car and visitor friendly are gone. I never liked mixing with the hoi polloi even before Covid...

 

[Chippylad]

Source london is definitely your friend. It's my go to whenever I have to go into town

I have also found Source London to be very good for my occasional trips into London

 

[Neilio]

I have also found Source London to be very good for my occasional trips into London

Yeah, it's really really pricey for what it is but due to it's slow speed and availability all over the place it's really handy. What you lose in expensive fuel you get back in spades by not paying for parking.

 

[Jason71]

Probably the only practical solution these days - or at least drive from home to a railway station nearer London and do the rest from there.
The days of London being car and visitor friendly are gone. I never liked mixing with the hoi polloi even before Covid...

this is what I generally do. Park at one of the outer tube stations. plenty of spaces generally and am always amazed how cheap the parking is on a weekend. I'm sure I've done the whole weekend before now for under a £10. Of course the tube ride in from there for the whole family kind of makes up for it!

 

[Stuart1714]

Normally I go to London quite a lot for football matches. We used to drive to them but in recent years we’ve tended to park up and get a tube or train in. We only drive to one or two grounds now.

Although I’ve not been to any since I got the M3, I’ve been planning trips to see what I would do. We normally stop on the way down for a brew and a comfort break, so I’d be looking to stop 2/3 of the way down for a 200 mile round trip and charge up then. I’d probably repeat it on the way back.

I’ve looked at charging whilst I’m parked, especially in station car parks, but I’d probably give this a miss as it’s a lot more unpredictable to plan.