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

[Stathern Jc]

An article on the BBC News website reports that charges are to be introduced for the use of electric vehicle charging points at Scotrail stations.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67748404

"Electric-car drivers will face fees to charge their vehicles at railway stations from early next year.
ScotRail, which said it would make no profit from the levy, confirmed a 43p per kilowatt hour (kw/h) tariff would be introduced from 8 January.
The nationalised firm said it cost £700,000 to operate the chargers every year.
Drivers who stay in the space for more than 12 hours will receive a £12 penalty under the new rules."

"Chargers are currently free to use, but drivers still have to pay parking fees already in place."

I'm probably missing something here, but I can't help wondering why they have been free in the first place.
There's no disputing that it is commendable to encourage the use of electric vehicles, but giving a free recharge to all users does seem financially reckless as well as a considerable burden to Scotrail.
It does make me wonder what proportion of those taking advantage of a free recharge are actually using the rail services from those stations. A few pounds for a parking fee is a cheap price to pay for a full range in a car.

Other readers here will have a better understanding than I have of the availability and use of EVs and charging points, so comments welcome.

 

[Carntyne]

Taxpayers have been paying for car drivers to charge their private cars?

Am I reading that right?

 

[Stathern Jc]

That's exactly how I read it.
And having read it again, it still looks the same .....

 

[MrJeeves]

Taxpayers have been paying for car drivers to charge their private cars?

Am I reading that right?

The Scottish Government have been funding EV charging for a long time.

ChargePlace Scotland operate a few thousand chargers across the country, with a significant number being free of charge.

Charge Place Scotland

chargeplacescotland.org

Here's all the free ones on their map:

 

[Couru]

Taxpayers have been paying for car drivers to charge their private cars?

Am I reading that right?

To be fair, that logic can be applied to any public service. "Taxpayers have been paying for [GROUP] to do [X]?"

All part of the transisiton from petrol to electric. If the running costs for electric are lower than petrol, people will switch faster.

 

[Sealink]

My brother lives in Scotland and could charge his electric car for free, as an incentive to wean people off petrol and diesel.

 

[Western 52]

My brother lives in Scotland and could charge his electric car for free, as an incentive to wean people off petrol and diesel.

I know it will vary per car, but how much would it typically cost to recharge a vehicle?

 

[danm14]

Taxpayers have been paying for car drivers to charge their private cars?

Am I reading that right?

This isn't exclusive to Scotland.

For example, all public car charging was free in Northern Ireland until April 2023 - including for visitors from the Republic of Ireland.

 

[Western 52]

By providing free charging at stations, aren't ScotRail effectively subsiding the competition? Seems odd to me.

 

[SWT_USER]

Tax payers have been subsidising ICE cars for years via fuel duty freezes. I don't think this is that different.

 

[snowball]

By providing free charging at stations, aren't ScotRail effectively subsiding the competition? Seems odd to me.

It's an incentive to leave your car at a station. While you're taking advantage of the incentive, you can't go anywhere in the car. So it might be seen as an incentive to use the train.

 

[fegguk]

I am surprised people do not know that there is free charging for EVs at many sites over the whole UK it’s not just a Scotrail or Scotland exclusive thing. This is to encourage people to switch amongst other reasons. It will not be a long-term situation as is the case here with Scotrail introducing charging. Rapid charger, where they exist, tend to be more expensive to use, you are paying for the convenience. To the point where some rapid chargers are a much per mile to use as diesel would be to buy. Slow charge are lot cheaper to use ir sometimes free.

 

[DelW]

I know it will vary per car, but how much would it typically cost to recharge a vehicle?

EV batteries are typically 50 - 60 kWh usable capacity, so at current full price domestic tariffs, around £20 - £25. Obviously some off-peak tariffs are very much cheaper than that, though equally some cars have larger batteries too.

Most free chargers that I've used (at supermarkets rather than stations) are quite a slow charge rate, often nominally 7kW though I've rarely managed more than about 3kW. You need to park for a long time for a full charge at that speed.

 

[GardenRail]

Good. Nobody pays for my petrol....

 

[hawk1911]

I know it will vary per car, but how much would it typically cost to recharge a vehicle?

My average, since I got my EV over 2 years ago, works out at just under 2p per mile; that's mostly home charging, as I rarely exceed the car's 250 mile range.

My 200 mile round trip from Stafford to Bradford works out at around £3.50, which explains why my rail usage has dropped dramatically since I got it.

 

[Lucy1501]

Most places that offer free charging are now starting to consider charging for it. Its worth noting that EV charging was a very insignificant expense with few users when most charge points were installed - demand is only growing and growing. It was always clear that this was unsustainable long term, and that time is starting to come.

That being said, I do disagree with a publicly owned operator like Scotrail discontinuing free charging. Government organisations should not be taking actions that provide less incentive to get petrol and diesel cars off the road.

 

[68000]

The charging points were abused though, my local station has 3 of them in the car park and I know some of the people parking using them and getting the charge do not travel on the train

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Taxpayers also fund free VED for fully-electric vehicles.
That is also bound to change as usage grows, as the government needs to maintain tax revenues.

 

[themiller]

I know it will vary per car, but how much would it typically cost to recharge a vehicle?

At 27.21p/kWh and a 64kwh battery, that’d make £17.41 or 6.11p/mile for my car. Some providers have even lower overnight tariffs (below 10p/kWh).

 

[Kite159]

Taxpayers also fund free VED for fully-electric vehicles.
That is also bound to change as usage grows, as the government needs to maintain tax revenues.

No doubt about that

 

[birchesgreen]

Good. Nobody pays for my petrol....

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.

 

[The Puddock]

The charging points were abused though, my local station has 3 of them in the car park and I know some of the people parking using them and getting the charge do not travel on the train

Agreed, the free electric vehicle chargers at a station near me are in permanent use by the residents of nearby houses and flats to the extent that I've heard stories of passive aggressive notes being left on genuine rail customer's cars telling them not to charge there. It remains to be seen whether having to pay for electricity and the daily penalty will dissuade them from treating them as their own personal vehicle chargers.

 

[Buzby]

I'm probably missing something here, but I can't help wondering why they have been free in the first place.
There's no disputing that it is commendable to encourage the use of electric vehicles, but giving a free recharge to all users does seem financially reckless as well as a considerable burden to Scotrail.

They were free because the Scottish Government funded their supply, commissioning and maintenance for a contracted period. With the original contracts ended it is up to the site owner to decide what to do as the cost of maintenance, power etc now falls to them. They can either charge, or remove (at their expense).

When I joined the ChargePlace Scotland scheme, not only was ALL Chargepoints FoC, parking was too (whilst charging). As the contracts are renewed the site owners all charged different amounts, and for a while it became Russian Roulette to what you’d be charged - with a faulty display and torn sticker as to costs, you really didn’t know the Kw cost.

As for ScotRail, their involvement was really ill-advised in this. Each site got (say) 2 charge points, and the first 2 cars plugged up and were there all day, blocking further use. Ideas that you would be fined for not moving off charge when full was pointless for commuters - then it was discovered they had wired the points to an incorrect supply and were shut down and usage banned whilst they sorted out the mess (not ScotRail’s fault but the contractor). I doubt much has changed, when the incentives were steadily removed, I wen’t back to petrol.

Taxpayers also fund free VED for fully-electric vehicles.
That is also bound to change as usage grows, as the government needs to maintain tax revenues.

Charges are being introduced in 2024, they are being steadily removed. Vehicles costing over £40k have to pay VED for being ‘Green’.

 

[Christmas]

I've spotted DPD delivery vans on charge overnight at the new Robroyston station on numerous occasions. I doubt the driver's using the train.

 

[Buzby]

I've spotted DPD delivery vans on charge overnight at the new Robroyston station on numerous occasions. I doubt the driver's using the train.

No different from other public chargepoints - Asda doesn’t insist you shop there whilst charging. You use the nearest one that works (and you can afford). Perhaps they’ll move off to the remaining free ones before being forced to pay.

 

[Falcon1200]

They were free because the Scottish Government funded their supply

Which actually means the Scottish taxpayer, and as one such (already taxed more than if I lived elsewhere in the UK) I strongly resent subsidising those fortunate, and wealthy, enough to be able to afford an electric vehicle, when I cannot myself.

 

[Buzby]

Which actually means the Scottish taxpayer, and as one such (already taxed more than if I lived elsewhere in the UK) I strongly resent subsidising those fortunate, and wealthy,

You’re entitled to your opinion, but everyone can choose what to spend their money on. I strongly resent being made to pay for an education system for kids I don’t have. Indeed my EV was s/h and the upside was greater than the downside (until about 2018) with current pressures EV sales have plummeted. Still, a shame we didn’t all get on the PPE funding bandwagon instead - that where your angst shoud be directed.

 

[GLC]

Which actually means the Scottish taxpayer, and as one such (already taxed more than if I lived elsewhere in the UK) I strongly resent subsidising those fortunate, and wealthy, enough to be able to afford an electric vehicle, when I cannot myself.

The Scottish taxpayer was always able to claim an interest free loan from the Scottish Government, to fund an electric car. https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/used-electric-vehicle-loan/

It's how I bought mine.

 

[RollingStock19]

I know it will vary per car, but how much would it typically cost to recharge a vehicle?

It depends what the government pay for it? but at home I pay less than a fiver for a full charge if I do it over night.

Which actually means the Scottish taxpayer, and as one such (already taxed more than if I lived elsewhere in the UK) I strongly resent subsidising those fortunate, and wealthy, enough to be able to afford an electric vehicle, when I cannot myself.

Well, I'll take the free charge in return for the child credits I don't get, or the lower tax I don't pay not being married, or the job seekers allowance I've never had to claim. We all take something from the system in different ways.

 

[Falcon1200]

You’re entitled to your opinion, but everyone can choose what to spend their money on. I strongly resent being made to pay for an education system for kids I don’t have.

Well, I'll take the free charge in return for the child credits I don't get, or the lower tax I don't pay not being married, or the job seekers allowance I've never had to claim. We all take something from the system in different ways.

We all pay for things we do not or may not ever use; For example, paying for the NHS despite in my case not having been in hospital since I was 8. However, when it comes to Governments (of any colour) spending, not their money but that which they raise from taxation, there has to be a limit somewhere, and subsidising motorists fortunate to have an electric vehicle is not a proper use of that money. And, as the Scottish Government has belatedly realised, you cannot keep spending money as if there was no tomorrow without, eventually, consequences.