BBC News reports "ScotRail introduces electric car-charging fees at stations" - (Why have they been free to use?)

[Buzby]

Ah - so this is just a rant at Scotland’s Governmen? Why didn’t you say so? No doubt you’ll hate those other incentives like the new station at Balgray because you’d never use it which were all paying for. It was your choice not to buy an EV. As for not ‘a proper use’ of money, I beg to differ. I got into EV’s with my first in 2009 and I got no incentives to purchase - but it was good value. Down the line things got better because it was deemed a good idea to promote ‘Green’ travel and this lasted for about 10 years and is ending.

Glasgow‘s ULEZ will no doubt restrict your movements somewhat as unlike London there’s no day passes to buy. As for their management, as for a comparison if you’re suggesting Westminster does it better, you’ll forgive me if I stop laughing.

 

[Tezza1978]

I strongly resent being made to pay for an education system for kids I don’t have.

That "education system" that you "strongly resent" paying for - educates our country's children so that they can grow up to be - police officers to keep you safe. Soldiers to protect our country. Lawyers to defend you if you commit a crime or have a legal dispute with someone. Doctors and nurses to treat you if you have a stroke or a heart attack, or get cancer.

Paying for things is being part of a society. I hope you don't have the "Im alright Jack" belief - or have need of any of the things I've mentioned above that you "strongly resent" paying for.....

 

[Buzby]

Hmm - we really have drifted off topic here. Funny how those having EV’s as entitled (and undeserving) of the tiny incentives to help build a better environment and then use it to score political points against an administration that funded green initiatives like Loft Insulation, Solar Panels and even EV chargers.

ScotRail’s adoption of chargers hasn’t pleased many people and it didn’t really make much sense. Charging for their use will not make them profitable but at least it will make it fairer.

 

[Falcon1200]

Ah - so this is just a rant at Scotland’s Governmen?

No, just a view that there are other, better ways for the Scottish Government to spend taxpayers' money. Especially when they end up spending far more money than they actually have, with, eventually, serious consequences for needs far more urgent than helping out EV owners when the penny, or rather the 150 million pennies, finally drops.

It was your choice not to buy an EV.

True, although it could also be said that it was my choice not to spend twice as much on an EV.

As for not ‘a proper use’ of money, I beg to differ.

We will have to continue to differ!

Glasgow‘s ULEZ will no doubt restrict your movements somewhat

Actually it does not, as I never drive into Glasgow, preferring to go by electric train.

As for their management, as for a comparison if you’re suggesting Westminster does it better, you’ll forgive me if I stop laughing.

Don't think I mentioned Westminster, anywhere? Anyway, excusing Holyrood incompetence and waste by saying it's worse elsewhere is a rather tiresome and pointless defence, straight from the SNP playbook.

 

[Lucan]

We all pay for your petrol (and mine as well, ta very much btw!) through the tax breaks and subsidies the fossil fuel industry receives.

How much does that work out per litre? Genuine question. On the other hand, about 90 pence of what you pay at the pump is tax. I'm pretty sure no-one is helping me pay for my petrol.

People have come to think that taxes on driving are, or should be, about nothing but emissions. But roads have costs like policing, signage, and maintenance. There is no reason that EVs should be exempt from paying their share of these, even if their fuel is cheaper or free. There is also the general discouragement of car traffic to consider, and cheap or free charging only encourages it.

A railway company has no business in spending money to encourage EVs. It should put the money towards its own electrification. After all, a drive to a station or the shops is usually a short one and would not in itself require a re-charge. I make long journeys to remote construction sites where they hire a field for parking, and there are no chargers there where I would need one.

For most people who can afford an EV the charging costs are trivial anyway. The main disincentives to buying one are finding and queuing at charging points, associated "charger rage" (has been mentioned up-thread), time spent there, poor resale value, and the cost of a replacement battery. A well publicised case recently was that Tesla wanted £20,000 to replace a battery affected by the owner driving through a deep-ish puddle - loads of those puddle around here at present. Offering free charging at the railway station or Tescos would no more affect my decision [not] to buy an EV than the offer of a free After-Eight mint would make me decide me to go into a restaurant.

 

[Buzby]

even if their fuel is cheaper or free. There is also the general discouragement of car traffic to consider, and cheap or free charging only encourages it.

A common misconception - free as in no cost to the end user? It doesn’t happen. I used to charge my car ‘free’ but I has £7k worth of solar panels to generate it, which was discounted by £2K with a grant. I still got paid for what I generate whether I fed it back to the grid or used it myself. ScotRail paid nothing to install at stations, ScotGov did. The recent price hike announced in ticket prices at twice the inflation rate isn’t welcome but their plan to charge for charging makes sense.

Chargepoint companies ‘sold’ the idea of charging on business premises as an attraction to EV drivers over their competitors. I’ve no idea if that worked as my last visit to an Asda fast charger told me it would take 5 hours! I went to a rapid charge elsewher. It wasn’t free, My Charge Your Car card was billed with a connection and Kw cost.

as for the well-heeled buying into the technology - hardly as 80% of new sales were on PCP and the like and I don’t believe this has changed greatly. The risk isn’t with the hirer and resale values are factored in.