Electric charging spaces in supermarket carparks.
Discussion
In My local Sainsbury's (and other supermarkets) there seems to be a growing number of spaces allocated to electric vehicles only. All have charging points.
I've never seen an electric car plugged in and charging.
Is it such, that parking in an electric car bay, when you do not have an electric car, is viewed by the masses in the same way as when non-disabled people park in disabled bays?
If you have an electric car but chose not to plug it in, can you still park in the bays?
I've never seen an electric car plugged in and charging.
Is it such, that parking in an electric car bay, when you do not have an electric car, is viewed by the masses in the same way as when non-disabled people park in disabled bays?
If you have an electric car but chose not to plug it in, can you still park in the bays?
cautiontothewind said:
In My local Sainsbury's (and other supermarkets) there seems to be a growing number of spaces allocated to electric vehicles only. All have charging points.
I've never seen an electric car plugged in and charging.
Is it such, that parking in an electric car bay, when you do not have an electric car, is viewed by the masses in the same way as when non-disabled people park in disabled bays?
If you have an electric car but chose not to plug it in, can you still park in the bays?
EV car owners are not happy, imagine pulling into a petrol station and all the pumps are filled with people doing their weekly shop. I've never seen an electric car plugged in and charging.
Is it such, that parking in an electric car bay, when you do not have an electric car, is viewed by the masses in the same way as when non-disabled people park in disabled bays?
If you have an electric car but chose not to plug it in, can you still park in the bays?
Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
ooo000ooo said:
EV car owners are not happy, imagine pulling into a petrol station and all the pumps are filled with people doing their weekly shop.
Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Absolutely this - common sense and common courtesy. Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Exactly the same as this, IMO. I wouldn't use the space if I didn't intend to use the charger. I'm an EV driver. I see this a lot at the local Asda. Two leccy bays, always ICE'd. Having said that the chargers are pay per use so the EVs rarely use them.
Most places use Charge your Car or PodPoint which are free and EV drivers use them as much as they can. Its really annoying when they are ICE'd. Still some places like our local authority car parks and Tesco Express are clamping and fining for miss-use now which helps.
Most places use Charge your Car or PodPoint which are free and EV drivers use them as much as they can. Its really annoying when they are ICE'd. Still some places like our local authority car parks and Tesco Express are clamping and fining for miss-use now which helps.
Not sure about the masses, but to the electric car drivers yes - it's offensive to them on a level somewhere between murder and genocide, you have to consider a lot of them are pretty forthright and preachy - I wouldn't bet against them being straight onto the Customer Service desk to have it moved, even if they walked there that day.
As for parking there and not charging - fancy Tesla S aside most Electric Cars have appalling real world ranges, like old people and peeing, Electric Car Drivers never pass up the opportunity for a charge.
I actually considered a Nissan Leaf for commuting a few years ago, and spent a long time on a Leaf Forum, hence my views, on paper it sort of worked for me, but in reality it was almost pointless:
Environmentally there is only a small window where it's too far to cycle, but short enough you'd risk a round trip without stopping at a charging point and that's a plan fraught with peril, you might arrive only to find 1) some inconsiderate ICE driver has parked in the bay 2) it's broken 3) it uses a different provider than the one you have an account with, worse still it takes an age to do even a fast charge - 45 mins from memory, 45 mins of sitting about, doing nothing. Add in the environmental cost of producing the electricity and worse still the batteries - it's not a 'green' car IMHO.
Economically, to make the cost of leasing the battery (£70 a month) cheaper than buying fuel you need to be doing a decent amount of miles every month, which is tough given the above.
Not that they're not worthwhile, you need the Leaf at the low-end and the Tesla at the high-end that work for a small amount of people to pave the way for the next generation of electric car, and the one after - they'll be real-world useful for most people by then I'd guess
As for parking there and not charging - fancy Tesla S aside most Electric Cars have appalling real world ranges, like old people and peeing, Electric Car Drivers never pass up the opportunity for a charge.
I actually considered a Nissan Leaf for commuting a few years ago, and spent a long time on a Leaf Forum, hence my views, on paper it sort of worked for me, but in reality it was almost pointless:
Environmentally there is only a small window where it's too far to cycle, but short enough you'd risk a round trip without stopping at a charging point and that's a plan fraught with peril, you might arrive only to find 1) some inconsiderate ICE driver has parked in the bay 2) it's broken 3) it uses a different provider than the one you have an account with, worse still it takes an age to do even a fast charge - 45 mins from memory, 45 mins of sitting about, doing nothing. Add in the environmental cost of producing the electricity and worse still the batteries - it's not a 'green' car IMHO.
Economically, to make the cost of leasing the battery (£70 a month) cheaper than buying fuel you need to be doing a decent amount of miles every month, which is tough given the above.
Not that they're not worthwhile, you need the Leaf at the low-end and the Tesla at the high-end that work for a small amount of people to pave the way for the next generation of electric car, and the one after - they'll be real-world useful for most people by then I'd guess
Ari said:
ooo000ooo said:
EV car owners are not happy, imagine pulling into a petrol station and all the pumps are filled with people doing their weekly shop.
Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Absolutely this - common sense and common courtesy. Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Ari said:
ooo000ooo said:
EV car owners are not happy, imagine pulling into a petrol station and all the pumps are filled with people doing their weekly shop.
Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Absolutely this - common sense and common courtesy. Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
For my sins i had to stay at a hotel just off the M1 a few weeks back and noted that 4 or 5 Telsa charging bays. Apparently the local plutocrats all like to meet up each morning for a coffee, a bacon roll, and a charge up of their steeds. Other than that they have had one car park in there whilst using the hotel for the night.
What amuses me is the meetings that must go on these days about planning car parks. Don't want to upset the disabled by putting them too far from the entrance, must keep a few rows for the parent and 'I have had a child at some point in my life even if they are not with me right now' paces and now they are also having to figure in the electric lot and want to be seen to be 'eco friendly and so wish to allocate these to 'prime' spots - not least also because of the wiring.
Side question - how many Telsas have been bought with private money I wonder? Right now if i were a company MD with a £100k car budget it would make great sense. As a private individual with £100k to spend on a luxurious GT I am not sure that i would be buying a Tesla for another few years...
V6Pushfit said:
Ari said:
ooo000ooo said:
EV car owners are not happy, imagine pulling into a petrol station and all the pumps are filled with people doing their weekly shop.
Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Absolutely this - common sense and common courtesy. Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Out of interest, as someone who designs car parks on a regular basis, where about's have Sainsbury's put the charging spaces?
Where would you prefer them to be? Personally if I was to put some in id put them away from the building BUT it would very reliant on the location of services & the safety/security of the equipment.
Id personally have them signed as exclusive for EVs
Where would you prefer them to be? Personally if I was to put some in id put them away from the building BUT it would very reliant on the location of services & the safety/security of the equipment.
Id personally have them signed as exclusive for EVs
Ari said:
ooo000ooo said:
EV car owners are not happy, imagine pulling into a petrol station and all the pumps are filled with people doing their weekly shop.
Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Absolutely this - common sense and common courtesy. Shouldn't park in the bays if you're not charging, poor etiquette on a limited resource.
Up to now, I haven't seen a single one, and the bays have been there for a long time. Indeed, small insects have made them their home..
The only car I've ever seen plugged in was a Tesla, in the service area near East Midlands Airport.
kambites said:
If I had an EV I'd like to see them placed as far away from the shop door as possible; which as a parent is also where I'd like the parent and child spaces.
..and people with disable badges I know would like the same for disabled spaces as they don't want to be treated any differently from anybody else... but it'll never happen as Planners and lobby group feel they must think for them. Foliage said:
Out of interest, as someone who designs car parks on a regular basis, where about's have Sainsbury's put the charging spaces?
Where would you prefer them to be? Personally if I was to put some in id put them away from the building BUT it would very reliant on the location of services & the safety/security of the equipment.
Id personally have them signed as exclusive for EVs
Stick them in a corner somewhere and create a 'station', frankly given the way some people will endlessly circle a supermarket carpark to find a space near the door - anywhere more than 50m from the door and you wouldn't need a sign.Where would you prefer them to be? Personally if I was to put some in id put them away from the building BUT it would very reliant on the location of services & the safety/security of the equipment.
Id personally have them signed as exclusive for EVs
I borrowed a BMW i3 for a few days earlier this year and found a supermarket in Weybridge had installed charging stations at the disabled bays only. So can disabled people park there and not charge? Can electric car drivers park there if they are not disabled? A bit of a mess, and one of the four chargers wasn't working.
In better EV news, my local Sainsburys has a few EV chargers which are well-placed, not in disabled bays and are free to use (providing you use the shop to get your parking ticket refunded). I charged the i3 there and spotted a Leaf doing the same.
In better EV news, my local Sainsburys has a few EV chargers which are well-placed, not in disabled bays and are free to use (providing you use the shop to get your parking ticket refunded). I charged the i3 there and spotted a Leaf doing the same.
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