Sustainable Travel

How could EV Infrastructure be increased in the UK?

June saw the return of Traffex at Birmingham NEC and a chance for the senior team to take a couple of days out of the office and find out what was new in the world of traffic and parking. After a good laugh/despair at the cost of parking in substandard sized spaces, the struggle of the M42 and the lack of available trains from the North East that week…… we noted the big focus on EV charging and emphasis on parking compared to previous years. 

Our team attended a session about ‘Futureproofing our EV charging infrastructure’ led by Jon McCardle of BPA. The session was really informative and did keep coming back to the notion that we don’t have a ‘crystal ball’ to plan for the future but that humans are creatures of habit and EV needed to come to them rather than expecting them to seek it out. This was seen extensively in the examples in and around the M25 where the streets of Westminster are lined with chargers and with more chargers planned.

One of the standout moments for us was a discussion around barriers to installing EV Infrastructure. A lady mentioned that she was working with farmers to apply for charging points in their yards that the public could utilise and the need for Local Authorities to have a positive outlook with regards to EV. The discussion sparked discussions on LHA barriers such as access to the farms and our Director, Gavin Snowball, made an observation that LHA parking standards were set long before the current level of EV cars were on the ground. Perhaps a more periodic review of these would help to ensure provision was provided. 

The discussion centred mostly around residential infrastructure with a need to revisit the commercial aspect in a future session. 

The team took the session back to the office and posed a very open question to the team:

How could EV Infrastructure be increased in the UK?

Here are five of the ideas that the team came up with:

Idea 1: Swappable batteries

Turning service station into car battery shops/suppliers where batteries can also be readily swapped for fully-charged version, eliminating the charging aspect of longer journeys. 

Blocker: May not be the technology direction that automotive industry invests in. Ultimately interested in solutions that are most profitable/cost-saving

Idea 2: Making use of existing parking areas / large areas of land dedicated to clean energy.

If places like Royal Mail are replacing their fleet with EV vans that are charged overnight, during the day car park is empty and as they are often located by business parks/shops, the bays could be rented during the day and also provide an extra income stream. The same idea was also applied to wind farms and solar panel farms that could provide car parks for charging vehicles and farm shops following on from the farmyard idea.

Blocker: Not all yards are located within walking distance of workplaces and the yards need to ensure that the post lorries can still access. The fleet also tend to work shifts so may only be a 4 hour window available.

Idea 3: Solar Powered Batteries

Not the craziest idea, what if the sunroof of a car was replaced with a solar panel that would provide a backup amount of power to the battery if it ran low on charge? 

Blocker: Obviously a fully solar powered car would remove an income stream for the providers and would be difficult to achieve but the idea of a backup battery would be a selling point if it did not add significant weight.

Idea 4: One App to Charge Them All

From a general frustration in the room came a request for Apple or similar to create an app that would detect which company charger you are at and fill with your details and pay with your phone. The amount of different apps needed for different chargers up and down the country is starting to get ridiculous – with a similar issue with parking machines.

Blocker: Cost and giving away the data configuration needed and/or top slice cost to an external company isn’t looked favourably on by the operators. 

Idea 5: HGV Charging Laybys

Should the EV HGV become viable, the HGV laybys and overnight parking areas would be a great spot to charge the vehicles. With rest stops mandated for the drivers this could work well with company fleets and service stations.

Blocker: The technology to have a viable HGV that can deliver weight and speed has not been seen as priority for the UK with alternative fuels providing the current enhancements in this area.

As part of the exercise, we also asked each team to come up with a Jetson Idea. This is an idea that has absolutely no barriers – just like the Jetsons flying around space.

Idea 1: A road surface that charges your car as you drive on it. 

Idea 2: Kerbs or pads that a car can charge on either along roads or in car parks. 

Idea 3: Plug in to lamp posts to charge your vehicle.

We are excited to see where the industry goes but the question still remains that the with no mass roll out of car battery recycling, is the UK ready and equipped for the push for EV and in doing so are we ignoring alternative travel and active travel options?

*If you are looking to get planning to install an EV hub for your commercial development DTP would be happy to help and can provide planning application support to cover your highways needs, as well as Travel Plans and Travel Packs to encourage your users to choose sustainable when it comes to travel*

Transport in Vancouver

Having recently returned from holiday (or should I say vacation!)  in Vancouver, Canada, a number of transport-related concepts from across the pond piqued my interest, not just the fact that they drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road!

The first thing that becomes overtly evident is that Canada is a very green country – and that’s not just the trees! For example, car idling is illegal, improving air quality. Pedestrians and cyclists have more right of way than back in the UK, and the majority of buses are electric, promoting sustainable transport choices. 

The city also benefits from EVO, a car share service akin to the electric scooter hires popping up left, right and centre in UK cities. With EVO, members can hop into any EVO car across the city (either hybrid or fully electric) and drive them for around $0.45 per minute, minus tax. Insurance, petrol (…gas!) and even parking are included for free. In fact, EVO-only parking spaces are spread across the city and with bike/ski racks included on every car, they are a very enticing option for sustainable travel. 

Designated cycle lanes (above) are located on virtually every road, with advance cycle stop lines at each set of traffic lights, of which there are many. The road structure (designed in very linear blocks) lends itself to signalised intersections, rather than roundabouts such as in the UK – which themselves tend not be very cycle friendly. I did, however, see one small roundabout, at which I observed many local motorists without a clue who to give way to! Red ‘stop’ signs are also used instead of road markings to indicate where to give way at a junction (below). 

A car parked on the side of a road Description automatically generated with medium confidence

The use of more traffic lights than you could ever dream of does also mean that a couple of other concepts can be introduced to improve the flow of traffic. On busy roads, left turns are prohibited during busy hours to ensure that traffic does not build up waiting for gaps in the oncoming traffic. All vehicles can also turn right on red lights – given that no pedestrians are crossing, or vehicles are approaching from the left – reducing queue lengths (or ‘line-ups’, apparently). On-street parking is also available or prohibited, depending on the time of the day and on how busy the road is, either freeing up the highway for traffic, or space for parked vehicles. 

Are there any interesting transport concepts you’ve come across on your travels that seem alien to the UK? Let us know @DynamicTP on Twitter!

e-bikes : The next level of luxury accommodation?

We are getting used to seeing e-bikes whizzing around in towns and cities when undertaking a tourist tour or just commuting to a weekday job (covid dependent) but they are becoming more noticeable as part of add ons available with your holiday accommodation.

Center Parcs Villages

For anyone who has ever stayed at a UK Centre Parcs you will know the emphasis placed on hiring a bike as part of your holiday. This has been in existence as long as the brand has, but have you ever tried to get hold of one of their electric bikes? Almost impossible unless you booked the minute your holiday dates became available. There is huge demand for these, and the hire price reflects it, as well as the cost of purchasing the bike in the first place.

For some people this is a great way to test out an e-bike in a safe environment with no traffic and their suitability for purchasing one at home. It would be interesting to see how much people search the internet for ‘e-bike’ when they are staying in the villages.

In covid times we have also seen the e-bikes re-purposed as Center Parcs delivery vehicles, providing meals from the village restaurants direct to your lodge address. At least this way the delivery driver doesn’t arrive sweating into your chow mein.

Hotels

On one of our last trips to Bowness in the Lake District we were pleasantly surprised to see that our hotel had a brand new bike shed packed full of e-bikes for use by their customers. This is a welcome addition to The Burnside hotel due to the hotel being situated on top of an extremely steep hill that is an interesting walk after a day on the lake or dining in a local restaurant.

This was a brand new installation, but an example of adding that level of luxury, especially as prices for holidays in the UK have been increasing as demand has soared in between covid lockdowns. Will more hotels follow suit and add e-bikes as a complimentary use or for hire in areas suitable for travelling by bike?

Bikes at The Burnside

e-bike Holidays

Our searching uncovered that there are complete holidays based around e-bikes. National Forest e-bike holidays plan you a route from BnB to hotel in a particular area. Your bike is delivered to your first accommodation and your luggage is delivered to each stop along the way. A great idea for those who have longed for a bike holiday but perhaps don’t have the fitness to or the urge to be exhausted at the end of every day.

Holiday Cottages / Air bnbs

Our searches also brought up amazing collaboration between e-bike hiring companies in the UK and local holiday cottages and Air BnBs. e-bikes can be booked in advance as part of your stay, often with a discount negotiated by the vendor, or you are at least signposted to hire one when you arrive. It’s a great way to keep sight seeing options open and for local businesses to engage with tourists.

So will e-bikes become the next level of luxury for hotel accommodation in the UK? Or is the risk of damage too much to sustain for the hotels? As we emerge from covid it will be interesting how many people take up opportunities to test out e-bikes and if these equate to an increase in sales.

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