That is sometimes the case. Check ZapMap for the full details before going as it significantly increases the cost.
Car park chargers. should I pay to park as well?
I thought I would have a go for the first time at public charging.
On arrival at the car park where the chargers are located it seems that while charging my car, which was chargeable, I also had to pay the parking fee as well.
Is this normal?
Cheers
On arrival at the car park where the chargers are located it seems that while charging my car, which was chargeable, I also had to pay the parking fee as well.
Is this normal?
Cheers
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
Yes, sadly, it is quite a common practice.
I took this up at my local hospital. I asked them to comment on what THEY (as an individual) would react if they had to pay parking whilst filling their ICE car.
I never received a reply...
I took this up at my local hospital. I asked them to comment on what THEY (as an individual) would react if they had to pay parking whilst filling their ICE car.
I never received a reply...
You should question this with the council or car park operator. A lot of the local councils in my area operate free parking while charging policies, but don't actually advertise this well if at all. I was quite annoyed when I found I had been paying regularly to park when I didn't need to.
Destination AC chargers are just parking spaces with charging. No reason to offer free parking, except to encourage EV uptake.
Some councils do that and some offer free or discounted parking for EVs even if you are not charging. I think that is the better idea as it avoids people charging who don't really need to. Unfortunately if parking is free only when charging, there are some who will plug in even if they are full!
I agree that Rapid charging should probably be free parking. Maybe 1 hour max with fines after that to avoid blocking. Cost of most rapids would probably discourage people from charging when they don't need to.
In London, Source London effectively include cost of parking in the charging fees. Makes it expensive per hour, but I used a few times in Ampera for short visits and cost was similar to nearby car park but included the charge.
Some councils do that and some offer free or discounted parking for EVs even if you are not charging. I think that is the better idea as it avoids people charging who don't really need to. Unfortunately if parking is free only when charging, there are some who will plug in even if they are full!
I agree that Rapid charging should probably be free parking. Maybe 1 hour max with fines after that to avoid blocking. Cost of most rapids would probably discourage people from charging when they don't need to.
In London, Source London effectively include cost of parking in the charging fees. Makes it expensive per hour, but I used a few times in Ampera for short visits and cost was similar to nearby car park but included the charge.
Sometimes you pay for parking, sometimes not. Where free I have never seen it clearly displayed by the council.
For my local 5 councils.....All destination chargers.
Limit 4 hours, free parking, POLAR post - normal on/off-street parking is limited to 1 or 3 hrs free so little incentive.
Limit 4 hours, free parking, POLAR post - but cheaper to pay £1.20 for a Polar Instant and plug in than pay for normal parking!
Multi-story - pay for parking but free charging. Tends to be hogged by business users parking all day and plugged in. ( One council even offers a special rate for all day EV parking in charging bays, and the charging spaces are also available to non plug in Hybrids! but I was told they are reviewing this).
And the way to discourage charger hogging - about 80p/hour for parking, PLUS £1.50 per hour for charging.
For my local 5 councils.....All destination chargers.
Limit 4 hours, free parking, POLAR post - normal on/off-street parking is limited to 1 or 3 hrs free so little incentive.
Limit 4 hours, free parking, POLAR post - but cheaper to pay £1.20 for a Polar Instant and plug in than pay for normal parking!
Multi-story - pay for parking but free charging. Tends to be hogged by business users parking all day and plugged in. ( One council even offers a special rate for all day EV parking in charging bays, and the charging spaces are also available to non plug in Hybrids! but I was told they are reviewing this).
And the way to discourage charger hogging - about 80p/hour for parking, PLUS £1.50 per hour for charging.
I know Milton Keynes offer "Green" parking to EV/PHEV and have registered my car just in case I stop there! But a great idea and would solve the problem elsewhere to discourage charger hogging.Some councils do that and some offer free or discounted parking for EVs even if you are not charging. I think that is the better idea as it avoids people charging who don't really need to. Unfortunately if parking is free only when charging, there are some who will plug in even if they are full!
The simple reason is: if you start giving things away for free then you encourage strange behaviour.
Locally, we've seen one charger with a PHEV parked on it day after day. It is owned by an estate agent with an office that overlooks the charge point. Whenever he returned from a job, and the charger was free, he parked on it making it unavailable for anyone else.
Chargers in hospital car parks would be monopolised with people trying to get away without paying for parking whilst getting their car charged.
Locally, we've seen one charger with a PHEV parked on it day after day. It is owned by an estate agent with an office that overlooks the charge point. Whenever he returned from a job, and the charger was free, he parked on it making it unavailable for anyone else.
Chargers in hospital car parks would be monopolised with people trying to get away without paying for parking whilst getting their car charged.
To be fair to the PHEV owning estate agent the car probably needed charging after each outing to remain in EV mode for the next local trip. Their behaviour seems logical.
Surely the issue is that the free parking should be limited to a certain number of hours with no return that day?
I realise that will not work at short stay destinations such as hospitals.
Surely the issue is that the free parking should be limited to a certain number of hours with no return that day?
I realise that will not work at short stay destinations such as hospitals.
Depends what you are doing. If you are opportunity charging while you are doing something else at that location (the main purpose of destination charging), it is reasonable to pay for your parking. If you are charging to be able to get to your next destination (the usual purpose of Rapid chargers) then there should be no parking charge (? technically are you Loading rather than Parking) especially if you are paying for the charge taken on board.
I think that it is probably reasonable to assume that all EV charging in Council-owned carparks etc which have a parking charge will have some of the cost covered - either by a direct charge to the user or in the form of 'cash back' from the charger operator based on charger use.
It's just as well that I went into this EV business with my eyes open, unfortunately my peripheral vision has let me down.
In this particular situation I wanted to just recover 25 miles to guarantee my journey could continue, give me that bit of a buffer. It wasn't a case of getting a bit of lunch or a coffee for the hour that it would take to get that 25 miles either. It was a provincial railway station, 3 miles from where I actually wanted to be, no facilities.
So had I stayed, that would have been what? £2.25 for the electric? £4.75 to "park". So that's about £7.00 for 25 miles? It would be cheaper to take my V8 Range Rover. Seriously!
Anyway, it was a first (and last) attempt to use a public charger. I went into this BEV setup on the basis that I would never have to use a public charger. Being a 50/50 suburban/long distance profile with easy garage charging and an ICE car it has worked very well and I would not change my mind about my decision.
I just get the impression that we are a long long way away from a total take up of this technology. And that's a real shame as all it needs is a bit of joined up thinking to make it work.
In this particular situation I wanted to just recover 25 miles to guarantee my journey could continue, give me that bit of a buffer. It wasn't a case of getting a bit of lunch or a coffee for the hour that it would take to get that 25 miles either. It was a provincial railway station, 3 miles from where I actually wanted to be, no facilities.
So had I stayed, that would have been what? £2.25 for the electric? £4.75 to "park". So that's about £7.00 for 25 miles? It would be cheaper to take my V8 Range Rover. Seriously!
Anyway, it was a first (and last) attempt to use a public charger. I went into this BEV setup on the basis that I would never have to use a public charger. Being a 50/50 suburban/long distance profile with easy garage charging and an ICE car it has worked very well and I would not change my mind about my decision.
I just get the impression that we are a long long way away from a total take up of this technology. And that's a real shame as all it needs is a bit of joined up thinking to make it work.
Five years on, little has changed. Each time a charger operator changes the pricing regime, there are EV owners that are happy and an equal number that are unhappy. For example, in the days of yore, Ecotricity charging was free. Not surprisingly, rapids were used as destination chargers by those that thought they had a right to a 100% charge - however, long it took - and those who wanted a free charge even though they had a charger at home. Ecotricity then brought in a standard time charge which caused outrage amongst those who - like yourself - just wanted a few extra kWhs of charge to get home. So we then ended up with kWh pricing which resulted in PHEV owners blocking a rapid for hours whilst the charge trickled in at a snail’s pace. This then resulted in a kWh price along with a max stay time with a penalty charge.It's just as well that I went into this EV business with my eyes open, unfortunately my peripheral vision has let me down.
In this particular situation I wanted to just recover 25 miles to guarantee my journey could continue, give me that bit of a buffer. It wasn't a case of getting a bit of lunch or a coffee for the hour that it would take to get that 25 miles either. It was a provincial railway station, 3 miles from where I actually wanted to be, no facilities.
So had I stayed, that would have been what? £2.25 for the electric? £4.75 to "park". So that's about £7.00 for 25 miles? It would be cheaper to take my V8 Range Rover. Seriously!
Anyway, it was a first (and last) attempt to use a public charger. I went into this BEV setup on the basis that I would never have to use a public charger. Being a 50/50 suburban/long distance profile with easy garage charging and an ICE car it has worked very well and I would not change my mind about my decision.
I just get the impression that we are a long long way away from a total take up of this technology. And that's a real shame as all it needs is a bit of joined up thinking to make it work.
In sum, time has shown no single charging regime suits everybody. If it can be abused: it will be abused. Yes, I can charge at home for about a 1p/mile and it hurts when I have to pay a third-party charger operator more than it would cost me to drive my old diesel for the same distance. That said, if time allows , there are often cheaper charging alternatives off the main route - such as Instavolt rapids in supermarket car parks. That said, the ones that I am thinking about do make a parking charge which is refunded when you make a minimum purchase.
Very interesting I had worked out a very similar rate. We are looking at destination chargers for pool vehicles, but want to allow others to pay for the service. Pool vehicles would only need about 4 hours charging per week. It would be paid to avoid any issues with hogging and ICE owners viewing it as a unfair benefit.For my local 5 councils.....All destination chargers.
Limit 4 hours, free parking, POLAR post - normal on/off-street parking is limited to 1 or 3 hrs free so little incentive.
Limit 4 hours, free parking, POLAR post - but cheaper to pay £1.20 for a Polar Instant and plug in than pay for normal parking!
And the way to discourage charger hogging - about 80p/hour for parking, PLUS £1.50 per hour for charging.
So if it delivers 7kW, that is 7kWh max within one hour. Domestic tariffs can be 15p/kWh on a standard tariff, so it costs £1.05p per hour to charge at home. Setting a higher tariff e.g £1.50 per hour would encourage that it is only used by those who must charge rather than it being a nice to charge. That tariff would discourage PHEV's who can only draw approx 3kW, although I was thinking it could be set at a lower tariff in the afternoons once the BEV's have completed their charging - sort of a PHEV happy period. The cost would also eliminate BEVs parking when at 100%, or BEVs hogging at a trickle charge. Does that appear correct?
Interesting behaviour from that Estate Agent. Is it a public charging post? Free vend by any chance?
That's true of petrol stations too. Paying for convenience is normal.That said, if time allows , there are often cheaper charging alternatives off the main route
A lot of PHEVs now charge at 7kWh, but they will fill up quickly and move.Very interesting I had worked out a very similar rate. We are looking at destination chargers for pool vehicles, but want to allow others to pay for the service.
So if it delivers 7kW, that is 7kWh max within one hour. Domestic tariffs can be 15p/kWh on a standard tariff, so it costs £1.05p per hour to charge at home. Setting a higher tariff e.g £1.50 per hour would encourage that it is only used by those who must charge rather than it being a nice to charge. That tariff would discourage PHEV's who can only draw approx 3kW, although I was thinking it could be set at a lower tariff in the afternoons once the BEV's have completed their charging - sort of a PHEV happy period. The cost would also eliminate BEVs parking when at 100%, or BEVs hogging at a trickle charge. Does that appear correct?
Are your points going to be at the far end of the carpark or in a preferable position which might encourage people to accept a premium for their use? Will you have a charge bump type requirement to move the car if it ceases charging and someone needs it more? Otherwise if I park, plug in then subsequently cancel the charge via my car app will I be charged for the time that I'm parked or the time I'm receiving charge for? On Polar I believe that it is the latter.
Although, his behaviour stopped when the chargers became charged-for. Free precipitates some very odd behaviour.To be fair to the PHEV owning estate agent the car probably needed charging after each outing to remain in EV mode for the next local trip. Their behaviour seems logical.
I would suggest they are relatively prominent, but it may have to be simply because of the distance to the electricity supply. The space may have to be controlled by users with a cone, as is done at some supermarkets.Are your points going to be at the far end of the carpark or in a preferable position which might encourage people to accept a premium for their use?
Will you have a charge bump type requirement to move the car if it ceases charging and someone needs it more?
To K.I.S.S, the EV user would pay for 30min units of charging, which would start a countdown timer. There could be a digital countdown display which anyone could see, and it would flash red or similar when the time was expired. But if they moved early, yes someone else could plug in and charge. This would be similar to leaving early on a P&D carpark, and handing your ticket for the remaining time to someone else. If the next person wanted to pay for two hours, I'm not sure if the system would could preset the counter to two hours or add two hours to any existing credit. I was thinking of specifying if the system inputs the mobile phone number from the user, it sends them a reminder text when there is 15 minutes remaining. Is that getting too complicated?
I believe so. What stops someone buying the smallest time then leaving their car there all day? A small price to pay for prime position in poor weather!
There were reports in the local press that when Cheltenham brought in free parking for EV owners in the City centre that that some people were parking in the slots; plugging in a charging cable and walking away without initiating a charge.
The requirement would be that they can only park when there is credit remaining. Overstays would have a penalty. In theory no different to staying beyond time in a P&D carpark. If they want to pay, but don't/won't charge, I suppose there is little to deter it.I believe so. What stops someone buying the smallest time then leaving their car there all day? A small price to pay for prime position in poor weather!
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
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