The problem with electric cars is that you're still taking a heavy metal box, a large storage chest, a couch, and two recliners with you whether you need them or not. That's always going to be a problem, no matter how well charging works.
I agree. I'm all for phasing out cars completely, but I don't think it is realistic even if there would be support for it.
Next best thing is to move cars to the edges of districts in urban areas. Create big parking spaces, covered in solar panels and equip them with chargers. Design them in such a way that everybody can walk in 5-10 minutes to their home from these parking spaces. In the space that we save this way we can have cycling lanes and trees. Of course, every house should still be reachable by car, if only just for mail delivery, for moving, for doing groceries etc. And people with handicaps should be able to get a permit to park near their houses.
I know one such district near me and its lovely. And one big city in the Netherlands is planning to build a new district in this way for 10000 people, it should be amazing to live there.
When you couple this with drastic improvements to public transport, I think we can move to pretty much ideal cities within a single generation, without abolishing cars and too much inconvenience. It is much easier for newly build districts, but I think this concept can be retrofitted to existing areas very well, if you can find enough parking spaces or garages at least.
That's part of it. I had a look in central London and I could sort of charge but the costs are very different too - something like £20k for a car whereas I got a used ebike for £180 and it's much quicker to get around on and you don't have the parking issues.
Always thought that the parking meters should be changed out for chargers that act as parking meters too. City would get more money and the infrastructure would be there to help with downtown charging. Duel use meters would still allow ICE to use the them too.
As EVs become more popular, big name stores should start adding a few chargers to their parking lots.
Apartment complexes could add them to entice maximum capacity too.
Or get rid of parking lots and build other infrastructure. Solar roofing is quite expensive and it is also much easier to do on an existing building which requires less investment.(Thus is done first). I've seen some happen but only as trail-by-subsidization or because the owner didn't care about the cost.
It’s not so much of a problem due to the average daily drive being a fraction of range. So long as you can charge at home, city life is fine for electric cars.
Most countries still do not mandate that new apartments include charging ports for parking spots. So densely-populated areas will still be plagued with non-EC compatible buildings for decades to come. That's what "city life" mean in several countries.
>It’s not so much of a problem due to the average daily drive being a fraction of range
Most people who own a car in cities in Europe also use it for long commutes to visit family in weekends or on holidays, often crossing borders. Range is then a problem since most families can afford only one car so edge cases matter. Maybe the wealthy Benelux and Scandinavia have top EV charring infrastructure but a lot of central, eastern and southern Europe is lacking.
Heck I can't plug my car in at home and it's still fine. I simply plan for the fact that I might spend 20 minutes here or there at the charger, at most once a week. Best case I do some grocery shopping, worst case I just sit in the car watching YouTube, either way is fine.
kqr|1 year ago
Lutger|1 year ago
Next best thing is to move cars to the edges of districts in urban areas. Create big parking spaces, covered in solar panels and equip them with chargers. Design them in such a way that everybody can walk in 5-10 minutes to their home from these parking spaces. In the space that we save this way we can have cycling lanes and trees. Of course, every house should still be reachable by car, if only just for mail delivery, for moving, for doing groceries etc. And people with handicaps should be able to get a permit to park near their houses.
I know one such district near me and its lovely. And one big city in the Netherlands is planning to build a new district in this way for 10000 people, it should be amazing to live there.
When you couple this with drastic improvements to public transport, I think we can move to pretty much ideal cities within a single generation, without abolishing cars and too much inconvenience. It is much easier for newly build districts, but I think this concept can be retrofitted to existing areas very well, if you can find enough parking spaces or garages at least.
tim333|1 year ago
yndoendo|1 year ago
As EVs become more popular, big name stores should start adding a few chargers to their parking lots.
Apartment complexes could add them to entice maximum capacity too.
Gasp0de|1 year ago
moffkalast|1 year ago
consp|1 year ago
conductr|1 year ago
edwcross|1 year ago
FirmwareBurner|1 year ago
Most people who own a car in cities in Europe also use it for long commutes to visit family in weekends or on holidays, often crossing borders. Range is then a problem since most families can afford only one car so edge cases matter. Maybe the wealthy Benelux and Scandinavia have top EV charring infrastructure but a lot of central, eastern and southern Europe is lacking.
jonasdegendt|1 year ago
littlestymaar|1 year ago
datadeft|1 year ago
Just look at this:
https://www.newsflare.com/video/704902/e-bike-battery-explod...
There are a lot of videos like this that shows the devastation of charging electric bikes or scooters indoor.