The shoddiness of government-created EV resources!
Discussion
Has anyone else noticed how oddly poor some of the official EV resources are?
I was looking at the government’s database of OZEV-approved home charger installers recently, expecting something reasonably slick given that EV adoption is now a fairly major part of transport policy. Instead, it feels like something that escaped from Dudley Council IT department in about 2003.
It technically does the job, in the narrowest possible sense. You can search through approved installers. But the presentation, filtering and general usability are surprisingly primitive for something that is supposed to help ordinary people make a fairly expensive decision about their home.
Recently I stumbled on EVHelper.co.uk, which seems to have appeared from nowhere and does the same job far better. Put in your postcode and you get nearby approved installers presented in a much more usable way, with ratings and other information that actually helps you distinguish between them.
I'm amazed that Britain still struggles with this. Obviously there are good developers out there, so I know that's not the issue.
Maybe I’m being unfair to the poor souls maintaining these databases, but it seems to be a recurring British-government habit. I mean, spending enormous sums establishing a scheme, then give the bit that members of the public actually have to use all the finesse of an early-2000s intranet.
I was looking at the government’s database of OZEV-approved home charger installers recently, expecting something reasonably slick given that EV adoption is now a fairly major part of transport policy. Instead, it feels like something that escaped from Dudley Council IT department in about 2003.
It technically does the job, in the narrowest possible sense. You can search through approved installers. But the presentation, filtering and general usability are surprisingly primitive for something that is supposed to help ordinary people make a fairly expensive decision about their home.
Recently I stumbled on EVHelper.co.uk, which seems to have appeared from nowhere and does the same job far better. Put in your postcode and you get nearby approved installers presented in a much more usable way, with ratings and other information that actually helps you distinguish between them.
I'm amazed that Britain still struggles with this. Obviously there are good developers out there, so I know that's not the issue.
Maybe I’m being unfair to the poor souls maintaining these databases, but it seems to be a recurring British-government habit. I mean, spending enormous sums establishing a scheme, then give the bit that members of the public actually have to use all the finesse of an early-2000s intranet.
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