More than one in four of the council’s new electric car chargers haven’t yet been used.
Brighton and Hove City Council installed more than 200 lamp post chargers over the summer, using £300,000 from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and a £100,000 investment from operator Electric Blue.
The most popular ones in September and October, the first two months that all the chargers were up and running, were used more than 100 times each. These were all in Queen’s Park, Central Hove, Lewes Road Triangle, the Wish Road area and around the Royal Sussex.
But 58 weren’t used at all. Many of these were around Church Road and Poet’s Corner, and Goldsmid and Marlet areas in Hove.
The council is stressing that the aim is to build an infrastructure which will encourage people who do need to drive to choose an electric vehicle.
And it described usage overall as a “bright start”
During September and October, the chargers were used a total of 1,191 times, delivered 13,402 kWh worth of energy. The council says they helped save approximately 11.1 metric tonnes in carbon emissions.
In October, the number of kWh was up by 40% compared to September and the number of times the chargers were used rose by 19%.
The council has also started recording data for three Fast Chargers in Ditchling Road, Islingword Road and Kings Road Car Park, and says it will share comparable data in the coming months.
Chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee Amy Heley: “This is great news for our growing electric vehicle infrastructure and for those residents and visitors who have invested in electric or hybrid vehicles.”
“We know that in order to meet our climate goals and improve air quality, we need to drastically reduce car use in our city. However, we also know that for those people who need drive in the city, having the right infrastructure in place is a big consideration for choosing whether or not to go electric.
“Our goal is to be a carbon neutral city by 2030. We move closer to achieving that ambitious target every time a petrol or diesel engine is replaced with an electric one.”
Charging costs 26p per kw/h for lamppost chargers, 27p per kw/h for fast and rapid chargers. both of which are fuelled by 100% renewable energy. The council receives 1p per kwh in year one increasing to 4p per kwh in year 4, which can be reinvested in more charge points.
The city’s most popular charging points:
- Bristol Street, Zone H (Royal Sussex area) – 171
- St Lukes Terrace, Zone U (Queen’s Park) – 159
- Wish Road, Zone W – 147
- Saxon Road, Zone W (Wish Road area) – 115
- East Drive, Zone C (Queen’s Park)- 111
- Waldegrave Road, Zone J (Lewes Road and Golden Triangles)- 111
- Forth Avenue, Zone N (Central Hove) -107
- Havelock Road, Zone J (Lewes Road and Golden Triangles) – 98
- Maresfield Road, Zone H (Royal Sussex area) – 91
- Selborne Road, Zone N (Central Hove)- 89
Charging points which are yet to be used:
- Westbourne Street, Zone R
- Argyle Road, Zone J
- Bevendean Crescent, Zone D
- Bolsover Road, Zone R
- Borough Street, Zone Z
- Brigden Street, Zone Q
- Brunswick Square, Zone M
- Buxton Road, Zone Q
- Byron Street, Zone R
- Byron Street, Zone R
- Carlisle Road, Zone R
- Carlyle Street, Zone V
- Clarendon Road, Zone N
- Clyde Road, Zone J
- Colbourne Road, Zone O
- Cowper Street, Zone R
- Craven Road, Zone I
- Elm Grove, Zone V
- Elm Grove, Zone S
- Exeter Street, Zone Q
- First Avenue, Zone N
- Hampstead Road, Zone A
- Harewood Court, Zone N
- Harrington Villas
- Holland Road, Zone O
- Hollingbury Road, Zone G
- Kemp Street, Zone Y
- Kingsthorpe Road, Zone R
- Lansdowne Place, Zone M
- Leicester Villas, Zone L
- Lorna Road, Zone O
- Maresfield Road, Zone H
- Osborne Road, Zone F
- Palmeira Avenue, Zone O
- Payne Avenue, Zone R
- Portland Road, Zone R
- Portland Road, Zone R
- Poynter Road, Zone R
- Quebec Street, Zone V
- Roedale Road
- Rugby Road, Zone J
- Russell Square, Zone Z
- Rutland Road, Zone R
- Salisbury Road, Zone N
- Sheridan Terrace, Zone R
- Silverdale Road, Zone O
- St James Avenue, Zone C
- St. Andrews Road, Zone J
- St. Aubyns, Zone N
- Surrenden Road
- Tilgate Close, Zone I
- Vale Road
- Walsingham Road, Zone R
- Wick Hall, Zone O
- Wilbury Road, Zone N
- Windlesham Road, Zone Y
- Worcester Villas, Zone L
- Wordsworth Street, Zone R
Having the infrastructure is one thing. The cost of an electric vehicle is another. I am about to replace a VW. New efficient, clean petrol engine cost £23,000 – new electric costs £39,000. Who are all the people who have almost £40K (vs about £20k) to spend on a new car? At a saving of about £1K/year for electric vs. petrol, 16 years to break even and then the car and the lithium battery are long dead. Electric cars are wonderful but we must remember they are not within grasp for the ordinary working people. They are high-end, luxury items for a very small proportion of society and car owners.
Base Volkswagen ID.3 is £29,990, after the Government grant. Base Golf (same size) is £23k, so the gap is not so large. Savings to offset difference will depend upon mileage, whether it’s a company car and whether is can paid for through salary sacrifice at work. It could easily make financial sense, even before considering environmental (and smugness) benefits.
I could not agree more with Samuel re cost. I would like an electric vehicle but just cant afford one. And in reply to Daniel Holmes about the gap not being too large between £23k and £30k – £7k I think! This makes a difference to an ordinary family. Perhaps the Council will provide some Grants or a facility like the Bike Scheme to help us purchase an Electric car. I’m in !!
I see Wick Hall is listed in zoneO as an unused point, however the unit does not seem to have any power to it. You walk around most of the city and they have a green light on but I have noticed a few around town with no lights including the one mentioned above.
I would feel more confident to go all electric if the charging point were dedicated. I often notice that charging posts are occupied by non electric cars. The charging point in Brunswick sq and first Avenue are not functioning ( no lights).
Not only are they high-end, luxury items for a very small proportion of society and car owners but also for company and council cars and other virtuous organisations
It might be an idea if the council marked the parking bays as charging point only, as it stands now anyone can park in the bays so if you have an electric car you can’t get access to the point. Not very well planned out
Well, unfortunately common sense is in very short supply, when it comes to Brighton & Hove Council.
How long does it take to charge an electric car compared to filling up at a petrol station?
Another valid point is that, even ignoring all the pollution created by the manufacturing process, electric vehicles create MORE pollution. All they do is move that pollution off the streets and to the local power station.
One final point about all the hysteria around carbon dioxide. Being heavier than air, CO2 is NOT a “greenhouse gas”, and is in fact essential to life. Getting rid of CO2 would mean getting rid of the plants that make life possible, resulting in a sterile world devoid of Human, animal and plant life.