EV infrastructure needs a boost

The AA and ITV Tonight reveal a lack of chargepoints is suppressing electric car sales

The most common reason for not wanting an electric vehicle (EV) is a concern about a lack of public charging points, research by the AA and ITV has revealed. A survey conducted for a documentary broadcast in September revealed that 69% cited an absence of chargepoints as a reason not to buy one.

The number of new fully electric cars being sold went up by 175% in the first seven months of the year. However, that is still only 4.7% of total sales. If the UK government it achieve its aim of ending the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, public acceptance of electric vehicles needs to rise dramatically.

ITV’s Tonight current affairs series examined how ready people in the UK were to adopt electric motoring. In a survey carried out with the AA, the ITV show asked people in the UK for their opinion on electric cars. Almost half of all drivers (47%) say they will consider buying an electric vehicle when they next change their car, according to the Populus poll of 17,628 AA members.

Women were more likely (49%) to say they would consider an electric car than men (46%), and younger respondents (aged 16-25) were most keen on buying an electric vehicle as their next car.

Geographically, those living in London (56%) were most likely to consider purchasing an electric car as their next vehicle, as were AB social groups (54%).

The most common reasons for not wanting an EV were: • Lack of public charging points, with 69% stating this as a reason. Regionally, respondents living in Wales were most likely to say that lack of public charging points was a barrier to buying an EV (74%) compared to all other regions • EVs are too expensive (67%) • 66% worried about ‘range anxiety’ or battery range.

AA members were asked about their level of agreement with a range of statements about electric cars. The top three most agreed with statements were: 1. Electric cars are too expensive (89%) 2. Charging an electric car takes too long (72%) 3. The national grid won’t be able to cope if we all switch to electric cars (63%).

Around two-thirds of respondents said they are worried about battery range, while just over half were concerned about how long the car’s batteries will last.

Men were more likely (90%) than women (87%) to agree that EVs are too expensive. Across age groups, respondents aged 55 and over were most likely to strongly agree that charging an electric car takes too long (37%).

Respondents were then asked to select up

Ginny Buckley and Grant Shapps

to three scenarios that they think would encourage drivers to buy an electric vehicle in priority order: a) If an EV cost about the same as the equivalent petrol or diesel (47% top three, 26% highest priority) b) More rapid charging hubs with facilities on the motorway network or the outskirts of towns where EV drivers can charge their car (41% top three, 13% highest priority). c) More charging stations at places like supermarkets, leisure centres and shopping centres (41% top three, 10% highest priority).

Motoring journalist Ginny Buckley, who is also the founder of the EV motoring news website www.electrifying.com, spoke to experts, car manufacturers, and the transport secretary Grant Shapps about what can be done to quicken the move to cleaner vehicles. Shapps said the UK now has more charging locations than petrol stations, but conceded that there is still work to be done to make motorway charging easier and more widely available. Reflecting on the traditional internal

combustion engined cars, Shapps said: “You’ll look back and think ‘My God, we actually allowed vehicles to pump out noxious fumes, and kids to walk past to go to school and thought nothing of it’.”

While nearly half of the respondents said they would consider buying an electric car as their next vehicle, an overwhelming majority of people said they thought electric cars were too expensive. However, Buckley revealed that while electric cars tend to be more expensive to buy, the lower running costs could mean they are actually cheaper in the long term. The programme highlighted how research by car manufacturer Peugeot suggested that over an average distance of 145 miles, petrol and diesel drivers would spend a respective £16.50 and £14.90 in a family car. By switching to the electric version, a similar journey would cost just £5.18 when using a standard home chargepoint, though it would cost more than that on most public chargers.

Edmund King OBE, president of the AA told Buckley: “The automotive world is going through a radical transition with more change likely in the next decade than in the last hundred years. We need to help drivers overcome perceived myths about EVs and charging. It is incredibly encouraging that almost half of drivers will consider an EV for their next car.

“Our AA breakdown data shows that EVs are more reliable, but when breakdowns occur they are similar to breakdowns on conventional cars with tyres, wheels and the 12-volt battery accounting for about one-third of problems.

“The AA was proud to be a founding partner of the first World EV Day on 9 September. This event should provide opportunities for individuals, fleets and businesses to find out more about the switch to EVs. We need to take every opportunity available to extol the virtues of EVs and continue to dispel some of the myths.”

Concrete planters provide robust street measures while greening the streetscene

Architectural urban furniture designer Possible has created self-watering green roadblocks to help with emergency street management schemes designed to aid social distancing and create car-free spaces.

The Concrete Jungle Modal Filter Planter is a cuboid concrete block designed for use as temporary green modal filters to open streets for pedestrians and cyclists by closing them to through-traffic.

As lockdown eases, councils are working to adapt streets to provide more room for walking and cycling, and keep cyclists and pedestrians safe. Possible has devised a concrete block that acts as a planter. The use of reservoirs to trap and store rainwater means plants stay watered for up to six-weeks without rainfall. The blocks can be used to block roads to motor vehicles, while letting bikes and pedestrians through.

Leo Murray, director of innovation at Possible, said: “Many of the changes needed to keep our cities moving and our streets safe in response to the COVID crisis are the same changes we already needed to tackle the climate crisis, so the hope is that many temporary measures can become permanent once the pandemic has passed. But for people to want that, we have to make sure that emergency measures are implemented in the most appealing way possible, and that means more than rolling out a mixand-match of plastic and concrete barriers.

“Wooden planters are one of the best ways to manage traffic, but although they

The Armadillo

British cycle storage manufacturer Grease Monkey Cycles says it has seen demand soar due to modal shifts during the pandemic. Growing interest in cycling has resulted in the

The Concrete Jungle concept

are very low cost to install, they can come with a hefty and potentially off-putting maintenance bill for cash-strapped councils. They can also be vulnerable to drivers of larger vehicles frustrated at having their passage barred. The Concrete Jungle blocks combine the best of both approaches, being cheap to make and maintain, yet still bursting with life, while being impossible to push aside, even with an SUV.”

The Concrete Jungle was developed by Leo Murray working with chartered arboriculturist Ben Rose, founder of Stockholm Tree Pits, and Dr Karen Liebreich MBE, founder of voluntary urban greening organisation Abundance London. The inventors said: “It is imperative that when streets are opened up for pedestrians and cyclists by being closed to motor traffic, this is done in the most appealing way possible. The experiences people have of sudden changes to their neighbourhoods to fight the pandemic will be critical to their potential future support for such changes to become permanent.

would be implemented with planters; heavy, bulky beds filled with soil and flowers and shrubbery, which give a sense of what an improvement it might be to have patch of greenery there permanently. However, a decade of austerity and a looming recession means local authorities may be unable to take on any new ongoing costs like the maintenance liability of keeping roadside planters watered.”

The Concrete Jungle Modal Filter Planter has been designed to be a pragmatic compromise between brutalist concrete blocks and full-scale planters, which require lots of maintenance needed. Unlike planters which require very regular watering through dry spells in the summer, the Modal Filter Planters should be able to retain enough rainwater in their reservoirs to keep plants thriving for up to six-weeks with no rain.

It incorporates two large planting recesses with sloping sides that funnel rainwater into Permavoid reservoirs embedded beneath the soil. This enables the use of natural rainfall to irrigate the plants. The planter stores rainwater in the reservoirs to carry the plants through dry periods. There are overflow drainage slots at the reservoir boundary to prevent waterlogging, while wicking capillaries continue to supply water to the roots of the plants between rainfalls.

The Possible team worked with fabricator Elite Precast Concrete to adapt its Kentledge security roadblock, and with water management company Polypipe to incorporate its Permavoid water storage system.

The block features forklift slots in the base and a lifting eye in the centre to allow them to be deployed and removed using a variety of different lifting equipment.

Bike storage firm gets COVID boost

“In an ideal world, temporary road closures

company surpassing its annual forecast for sales of bikestorage solutions within a matter of weeks.

Strong central and local government support for cycling in support of COVID-19 social distancing schemes, and an emphasis on active travel, has seen strong interest in the Armadillo secure cycle storage units, reports the company.

Designed and manufactured in the UK, the Armadillo is designed so that two of the units, each holding five bikes, can fit within the footprint of a standard off-street or on-street parking space. This feature has enabled local authorities race to re-purpose parking bays during pandemic-related street remodeling schemes.

The Armadillo units can be complemented by the installation of bike repair stations that give cyclists access to maintenance tools to ensure they can remain on the go. Both the storage and maintenance facilities can be found using app-based maps.

Grease Monkey founder David Wray said: “It’s obviously very good news both for the company and all of those individuals that we employ either directly or through our installation partners, although it does feels a little strange that our success comes as the unexpected silver lining to a tragic turn of events.”

Wray said the company experienced a similar spike in interest in its systems after the Grenfell tower block fire in London during 2018. The blaze alerted housing providers to the need to provide adequate secure cycle parking as a way to discourage the commonplace, and potentially lethal, practice of leaving bicycles secured in stairwells.

“A sudden rise in demand almost caught us out,” said Wray, “but it taught us to make sure all our processes were highly scaleable. Now, with the government’s response to COVID leading to a fundamental surge in cycling, we are more than able to keep up with the pressures to supply.”

How the pandemic has changed parking

COVID-19 has seen local authorities adopt contactless and digital systems, says RingGo

Over half of UK local authorities provided free parking during the first months of the pandemic, a study by cashless parking provider RingGo suggests. The phone parking service surveyed councils across the country to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on the parking industry, what has been learned, what they would do differently and how the impact of this year may shift future priorities. The results show that during the pandemic, over half of councils (57%) across Britain provided free parking for everyone, with an additional 14% providing free parking for key workers. This coincided with an 86% reduction in enforcement, with over half suspending it completely.

To help with these changes, RingGo worked with local authorities and parking operators to ensure they could safely support the needs of motorists and employees. RingGo provided tailored signage, adjusted app experiences, increased usage of cashless options and even helped with the removal of parking machines in some areas.

Moving forward

While there is still uncertainty around the long-term impact of the pandemic, many councils are now planning for the future, reports RingGo. Moving into 2021, 72% expect to see phone-based parking payments take priority, with 56% correlating this with a reduced use of parking machines. Additionally, 56% are looking to make more data driven decisions, specifically to track sessions and income (95%) and the migration from machine to cashless payments (86%).

Tracking trends and making informed planning decisions around mobility requires information. RingGo said its data dashboards and insights have enabled councils to access statistics, generate graphs and receive real-time updates across of their parking locations.

The need to react quickly during COVID-19 has also deepened the interest among local councils to provide dynamic pricing based on availability (41%), with half saying they would like to base this on vehicle type as well. RingGo said this aligns with 78% noting that air quality is already driving parking policy. One way to offer dynamic pricing is through Emissions Based and Net Zero Parking (EBP and NZP), two services developed by RingGo which link parking charges to the emissions of the vehicle being parked.

Continued pressures

Despite the constant change of 2020, councils indicated that many priorities and pressures have remained the same. Topping the overall parking goals list is achieving budgets (57%) and saving costs (43%), two topics that are universally at the top of this list. Maximising compliance was also a key factor with 93% saying that political considerations were driving parking policy. Another topic that has become more prominent is accessibility –70% said ensuring good accessibility was important while 76% said it is now driving policy decisions.

Peter O’ Driscoll, UK managing director of RingGo, said: “2020 has been challenging for many of RingGo’s customers and partners. However, it is great to see that they are taking it in their stride, learning from many of the decisions they were forced to make during the pandemic and turning these into opportunities. From embracing touchfree parking to using data and becoming more environmentally conscious, these transitions would all have taken longer under any other circumstances.”

Impact on parking policy following COVID-19

Key findings

•57% of councils provided free parking during first months of the pandemic •72% expect to see phone-based parking payments take priority •56% are looking to make more data-driven decisions •41% of councils want to provide dynamic pricing based on availability •78% claim that air quality is driving parking policy

The ParkIT terminals

Manchester Airport opts for ParkIT system

ParkIT powers contact-free Drop & Go valet car park

Manchester Airport is offering passengers an automated and contactless parking experience at its new 8,000-space multi-storey car park that houses the Drop & Go area.

The Drop & Go facility features selfservice kiosks that manage customers through the check-in. Customers’ cars are then collected and parked by the airport’s valet parking team.

On return customers scan to collect their keys from lockers and return to their cars, which are parked a short distance away.

The hardware is integrated into the ParkIT

Martin Postler

A parking payment system manufactured by Designa has won a major international design award. The Pay Cashless terminal was awarded the iF Design Award 2020 in the Public/Retail category.

The iF Design Awards are presented annually by Hanover-based iF International Forum Design. A total of 7,298 entries from 56 countries were assessed by a 78-strong jury of international experts.

The Pay Cashless station was designed by Designa in collaboration with PostlerFerguson, a multidisciplinary industrial design agency based in London

The Drop & Go facility

Core Platform, which provides car park teams with operational visibility of vehicle, key and staff movements.

Wayne Poole, landside operations director at Manchester Airport, said: “We were focussed on building a fantastic customer experience and seamless operation at our newest facility. ParkIT was the obvious choice with its platform’s track record in managing several of our car parks. The process is super simple, and the kiosks and lockers look great.”

Designa pay station wins design award

ParkIT is part of the Holiday Extras group. and Hamburg. Founded by Martin Postler and Ian Ferguson, PostlerFerguson has worked with companies such as Nike, LG electronics and HF Tiretech, as well as UK cultural institutions like the V&A in London, the Museum of Childhood and the Royal College of Art.

Martin Postler said: “On the surface, this is a product design award, but far more relevant are the processes, dynamics and innovations, both in terms of production and in Designa’s working methods, which led to Pay Cashless winning this award.

“Close cooperation in the design process was and is the real achievement that is being celebrated. We’ve won a number of design awards over the last 10 years with our partners, including probably the most important one in the world of design, the Design of the Year award from the Design Museum in London.

“We’ve been collaborating with Designa since 2016. It all began with a strategic view of the entire product range, which led us directly to developing the design for the Cashless, Coinless and Cash&Card pay-onfoot machine series, which was complemented with the design of the barrier system.” ParkIT was awarded the turnkey software solution contract for the car park and partnered with ANPR International, which provided a fully automated vehicle damage recording system that captures high-definition CCTV images of customers’ vehicles when they enter the parking area.

Oliver Ashford, managing director at ParkIT, said: “I’m proud of the team’s ability to deliver this, given the ongoing challenging circumstances and how well the ParkIT platform has been improved to power a safe and secure operation post-COVID-19.”