Street Side Charging Points

[aardvark6535]

I hear that the council are thinking about installing more Street Side Charging Points, Great if you have an electric car, but not a lot of use if you haven't - So this involves spending council (Our) money where only a few will gain - To make this more Palatable would it not be possible to alter them slightly so that they can also be used by those on a mobility scooter - A pull out cable ( pavement side) that fits into the scooter. I'm sure they all scooters use the same connection? This will allow scooter users to travel further without having to worry about running out of power - Just an idea.

[HeHasRisen]

If they arent taking the place of existing spaces for existing cars I dont see the harm, local authorities spend loads of money on things I or you dont directly benefit from ever or for decades.

Edited October 17, 2023 by HeHasRisen

[Pyrotequila]

Isn't this just future proofing?
Creating charging points for when they are inevitably needed doesn't seem like such a bad idea... rather they start getting it sorted now then a ban on internal combustion engines comes in and suddenly everyone is scratching round to find somewhere to charge up 🤷‍♂️

[Planner1]

2 hours ago, aardvark6535 said:

I hear that the council are thinking about installing more Street Side Charging Points, Great if you have an electric car, but not a lot of use if you haven't - So this involves spending council (Our) money where only a few will gain - To make this more Palatable would it not be possible to alter them slightly so that they can also be used by those on a mobility scooter - A pull out cable ( pavement side) that fits into the scooter. I'm sure they all scooters use the same connection? This will allow scooter users to travel further without having to worry about running out of power - Just an idea.

I believe this is part of a central government funded  initiative that’s about trying out ways of putting charge points in residential areas which don’t have off street parking. I’ve seen similar being planned and introduced elsewhere. 
 

So, it’s money given by the government for a specific purpose, not something the council could spend on something you might like better.
 

I have never actually heard of mobility scooter users wanting to use on street EV charge points. They usually store and charge them at home, off street. I understand they normally charge them off a standard mains socket, so they would not be compatible with the types of charger deployed for electric cars. Drivers do have to pay to use the EV chargers and it will be much cheaper to charge a scooter at home.

 

Have you actually asked any mobility scooter users whether they need a facility like that?

[RollingJ]

2 minutes ago, Planner1 said:

I believe this is part of a central government funded  initiative that’s about trying out ways of putting charge points in residential areas which don’t have off street parking. I’ve seen similar being planned and introduced elsewhere. 
 

So, it’s money given by the government for a specific purpose, not something the council could spend on something you might like better.
 

I have never actually heard of mobility scooter users wanting to use on street EV charge points. They usually store and charge them at home, off street. I understand they normally charge them off a standard mains socket, so they would not be compatible with the types of charger deployed for electric cars. Drivers do have to pay to use the EV chargers and it will be much cheaper to charge a scooter at home.

 

Have you actually asked any mobility scooter users whether they need a facility like that?

Good point - as is the different charging regime. I know quite a few scooter users, all of whom charge at home, and none of whom want to use them for more than a full charge would allow.

[Planner1]

3 hours ago, HeHasRisen said:

If they arent taking the place of existing spaces for existing cars I dont see the harm, local authorities spend loads of money on things I or you dont directly benefit from ever or for decades.

Read the article here

 

It appears the bays will be electric vehicle only, so normal vehicles will be displaced. I can see that might be a problem in areas where parking is scarce and EV ownership probably isn’t high at the moment. Might result in objections.

[HeHasRisen]

Just looked at the article. We are talking about 11 extra charging points. 

 

That's right. Eleven. Not 111 or 1,111. 

 

Eleven. 

 

Hardly worth the fuss is it? 

[aardvark6535]

I am a Mobility Scooter rider, have been for some years now, I would like to go into the city on mine but I don't want to be stuck in town with no power, dispite having new batteries I don't think they would get me there and back on a single charge ( about 6/7 miles) We (scooter Riders ) are the first to suffer Range Anxiety.

I was thinking two seperate cables, one road side for cars, and one pavement side ( on an entirely seperate system )for the mobility scooters, payment made via an App or something similar.

I know it's not as simple as I make it out to be, but it could increase the use of these charging points.

[RollingJ]

@aardvark6535- pavement or road-legal? And how much hilly terrain. A friend of mine used to use her 8MPH max scooter to do regular 9/10 mile trips in Brighton - the hilly bits - and never had an issue.

[aardvark6535]

I have a road legal scooter with new batteries, the furthest I've dared to go on mine is 3 miles out and 3 back, one short steep hill, when I reached home I was fairly low on juice but how far that would take me is any ones guess. I know the companies that make them state 30 miles, but that is all Bull. I'm not exactly light at 17st either.