As Benna CDJR awaits the arrival of Stellantis Battery Electric Vehicles, it is clear that one of the paradoxes of EVs is that they are the least practical for a group that would probably be most open to the idea. That would be young urbanites. Driving distances are shorter in the city, and much of it involves stop-and-go driving, both of which work in EV’s favor. The younger demographic is also generally more environmentally conscious (they have to live with the consequences longer) and less established in their automotive preferences. The problem is that many of them live in apartments where they have no means of charging overnight. The city of Liverpool, UK, has plans for at least a partial solution.
Adding 300 Chargers to the City
The plan is to install Level 2 chargers on lampposts that line the city streets for use by cars parking curbside. A company called Ubitricity plans to install 300 such charge points around Liverpool. When added to the 150 charge points already in the city, this will give Liverpool the status of third largest public charging network in the country. London and Coventry are first and second, respectively
Regarding London, they are also planning to have Ubitricity add 500 chargers to lampposts in the Westminster area of London. London has a fairly robust charging infrastructure already having had over 6000 public chargers since 2018.” This program puts down a real mark of intent to provide the necessary infrastructure to help the move away from petrol and diesel-powered cars,” said Liverpool city councilor Dan Barrington. “The fact that the roll-out is being led by community requests means the points are going where the demand is needed most which means they’ll be getting maximum usage.”
What the system has going for it is taking advantage of existing electric infrastructure. Ubitricity will be attached 5kW chargers to the lamp posts. They might not fully charge a depleted Hummer EV Pickup overnight, but they could be expected to fully charge the average EV owned by a city dweller. This is presently thought to be one of the most cost-effective and accessible EV charging infrastructure ideas that could be replicated in the U.S.
Due in large part to its size, charging infrastructure in the US by Tesla, Electrify America, ChargePoint, and others has mostly focused on collective charging locations featuring DC-direct fast charging for people traveling from one part of the country to another and adding charging locations to office parking lots. That still leaves out many apartment renters looking to charge their commuters.
Would it Work in the U.S.?
The idea raises several questions in terms of its viability in the U.S. City curbside parking is often in short supply, so would the chances of finding available chargers be too haphazard for city EV drivers to feel confident in their charging ability? Would there be a backlash when spaces by street lamps are reserved for EVs? Would hooligans roam the streets with cable cutters just for spite? And are apartments structured differently enough in the U.S. that promoting charging ability within apartment complex parking would be more effective? These questions and many more are likely to be asked by city planners across the U.S. as they closely watch the Liverpool plan.
In any case, such changes probably may not come to the Superior area any time soon. If you have a place to charge overnight, the EVs planned by Stellantis and coming to Benna CDJR may work for you.
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