One of the most baffling things about the electric car roll-out is how little the owners of motorway services have done to capitalise on a captive market. EV owners on long journeys are bound to use motorways and are obviously going to need charging points. You would think that 20 charging bays, from at least three different suppliers, would have been installed at every major motorway services by now, but no. Instead Ecotricity has a monopoly, as if we are still living in the reign of Charles II. Bizarre.
Following the news first reported on Electrifying.com that the Government is to act on the current monopoly on electric car charging at motorway service areas, and introduce minimum service levels and clear charge pricing, RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said:
“This is extremely welcome news as charging electric cars at motorway service areas needs to fast, reliable and easy to pay for so drivers can make longer journeys with the minimum of fuss. It should also go a long way towards showing would-be EV drivers that ‘range anxiety’ is a thing of the past, further speeding up the switch to electric.
“Nothing is more frustrating to an electric car driver than the sight of an out-of-order charge point, so the fact that there will be a commitment to having chargers ‘in service’ will make a big difference. The promise of clear pricing is also important as drivers are used to knowing what they’d be paying before filling up thanks to petrol price ‘totems’ on forecourts.
“The RAC is proud to be leading the way in supporting drivers in switching to electric vehicles. An ever-increasing number of our patrol vans have built-in emergency mobile charging systems capable of giving an out-of-charge electric car enough power to be driven a short distance home or to a working charge point, while our All-Wheels-Up recovery system allows our patrols to safely rescue electric cars without the need for a flatbed.”
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