Are we being forced to go electric?

[SydZ]

I’ve moved home twice in my life to cut down on commuting. I have either walked or cycled to work for close on two decades. We have gone from a two car family to a one car family and ever that car sees less than a quarter of the annual average mileage.

 

[Dogtrousers]

George Monbiot touched on that point recently in an article. I think he actually classes it amongst the 'only hopes' (I'd have to reread the article) Basically, we've brought this situation on ourselves quite quickly so we can just as quickly unmake it.

It's my lifetime really. I think the huge "whoosh" of people all owning cars, jobs not necessarily being local really happened over the 60s and 70s, maybe the 80s a bit too.

My dad's working life: Started working in a factory that was a major local employer (50s) cycled to work and got a car as soon as he could afford. Moved to an aspirational suburb, owned car, drove 20 miles or so to work, raised family (60s, 70s). Heavy manufacturing collapsed. Ended up as a consultant driving all over the place or working abroad (80s, 90s).

Problem is that it was a change that made life nicer. It's nice to own a car and drive around in it. It was all juicy carrot and no stick. The reverse needs to have a degree of niceness or change will be sporadic at best. Or there needs to be a big stick (and maybe a small, shrivelled carrot)

 

[byegad]

When I was born*, the street where I lived, some 50 houses had three car owning houses. twenty years later it had nearly 50.

It's an uncomfortable fact that in the future many of us will no longer be able to afford a car.

How will we be able to travel, you ask? Well car hire, pedal power and vastly improved public transport will take up some of the slack and for the rest people will have to travel less.

This will go down with the general public with all of the aerodynamic qualities as a lead balloon. Which is why we have not made, as a planet, the progress in fighting climate change that we could/should have made.

 

[HMS_Dave]

If you had any sense - you'll book ahead and arrange a fee first. You'd not do it on the spur of the moment.

The point is - having a private car isn't the only way to live. I'll bet most of us had a lot less access to cars in our parents time. Life went on. People got around.

I agree, private cars are not the only way to live. But a taxi would be an exceptionally expensive way to travel. A quick look on a taxi price comparison website and a taxi from N.Wales to Bideford would cost £326 at the cheapest, one way, which is a small car... A larger car could cost nearer £500, punishing for wheelchair users. You may be able to wrangle a cheaper price if arranged in advance, but then you still have to get back. I get the point you were making however.

Council planners and businesses still build with the car in mind. Retail parks on the fringes of a town, business parks on greenbelt, new housing developments in villages in the middle of nowhere... They seem to be banking on the future being largely the same as it is now with personal car usage, maybe they are right...

 

[Landsurfer]

Just don't get the taxi to hospital ...... that won’t work out well.

 

[Milzy]

I hope fuel goes higher as it will pi$$ off the pick up truck owner next door.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I recently heard about ZipCharge, it is a horrible idea as it stands, it's an 8kWh battery that you charge up at home/in the office then plug into your car to charge it up.

https://www.zipcharge.global/

It is sort of targeted at replacing today's use, say 20-40 miles, by people who have an electric car, do few miles and do not have access to street charging points or off road parking.

Although; Electricity into the national grid->charge battery->discharge battery into another battery to charge that one is not exactly the most eco-friendly route.

If the functionality became a factory option, a small battery pack that is removeable and portable then it could help EV adoption in many cases. However it may be that what is portable to a 21 year old body builder may not be so portable for other potential users, thinking 10 flights of stairs as the lift is broken.

Bye

Ian

 

[FishFright]

That pre supposes that the entitled masses will willingly give up their vehicle enabled autonomy. Looking around me at the large number of X5, Q7, Defender, and other behemoths, mostly being single occupied, I hold out very little hope for the “unmaking”

Which also pre supposes that car owners will get a choice. At some point it won't be left to the market or our descendants will have to suffer the consequence.

 

[Sharky]

One thing that worries me, will be the availability of petrol stations in the future. If you notice, most car registrations are less then 10yrs old. So if this trend continues, electric cares will soon become the majority.

But spare a thought for those that buy a car and keep it until it dies. Our run around is now almost 20yrs old and good for a few more. Will probably scrap it when it fails the mot, but anybody buying a car today, could easily still have it in 20 yrs time - 2040 onwards. Will they still be able to buy petrol or will service stations be shut down?

Won't affect me, as I will not be driving (possibly) when I am in my 90's.

 

[Biking mum]

Good morning,

I recently heard about ZipCharge, it is a horrible idea as it stands, it's an 8kWh battery that you charge up at home/in the office then plug into your car to charge it up.

https://www.zipcharge.global/

It is sort of targeted at replacing today's use, say 20-40 miles, by people who have an electric car, do few miles and do not have access to street charging points or off road parking.

Although; Electricity into the national grid->charge battery->discharge battery into another battery to charge that one is not exactly the most eco-friendly route.

If the functionality became a factory option, a small battery pack that is removeable and portable then it could help EV adoption in many cases. However it may be that what is portable to a 21 year old body builder may not be so portable for other potential users, thinking 10 flights of stairs as the lift is broken.

Bye

Ian

I have been looking for things like this. We dropped to a one-car family last year, with my husband and I using our bikes to get around as we work from home. We would swap to electric but nowhere to recharge at work or home so I'm clueless as to how to make a swap to electrics.

 

[Landsurfer]

I hope fuel goes higher as it will pi$$ off the pick up truck owner next door.

And everyone on a low income that eats food ...... but i’m sure you’ll be fine ...!!!

 

[gavroche]

Personally, I think car ownership is here to stay, simply because of the freedom it gives you. Many may cut down to just one car and the method of propulsion will be electric or hydrogen. Motoring is massive business so the country cannot afford to lose it.
Public transport is just not happening as it prices itself out in the UK. Unless it becomes more affordable and concentrates on providing a service rather than money driven, it won't happen.

 

[gbb]

Sadly, i suspect higher fuel prices have little or no effect on those that flaunt..or chose, or may e have to have big SUVs, cars, trucks etc. I suspect many are company owned, fuel is paid for by the company so the driver doesnt often give a whatnot....it never ceases to amaze me how many expensive cars being driven in a way that orobably doesnt return 20 or 30 mpg...but the above perhaps explains it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Personally, I think car ownership is here to stay, simply because of the freedom it gives you. Many may cut down to just one car and the method of propulsion will be electric or hydrogen. Motoring is massive business so the country cannot afford to lose it.
Public transport is just not happening as it prices itself out in the UK. Unless it becomes more affordable and concentrates on providing a service rather than money driven, it won't happen.

Even without considering carbon emissions, I suspect that is an impossible dream. There just aren't enough of the necessary elements required to build all the batteries and fuel cells and magnets and motors so on to replace all the existing cars with electric/hydrogen cars.

Motoring may be a massive business but we may not be able to afford to keep it.

It was nice while it lasted. As was the horse industry which was pretty ginormous.

 

[gbb]

One condender for the hoi polloi would be rental of EVs. I could see my local shopping centre having 10/20 cars on it, chargdd, ready to go, rent for the day, the hour, wharever, take it back when youre done. Multiply that up and down the country in car parks, it might suit many people who only occasionally need a car.