The Anonymous Widower

Will Electric Cars Ever Hack It?

I'[ve always had my doubts about electric cars and on BBC Breakfast,  Rory Cellan-Jones was showing a new charging system, to help you do long journeys in an electric car.

As someone, who used to enjoy driving but doesn’t now, I’m rapidly coming to the point, where I think in the next few years many people will come to my decision and almost abandon cars completely.

Electric cars will not be the solution, unless they dsolve the range and cost problems, so they will only be for those who just can’t break their habit of driving everywhere. They will also probably only work if they are small and I doubt we’ll ever see an electric Range Rover.

On the other hand, where electric power and more efficient hybrid power will work is in larger vehicles, like buses and delivery trucks.  Where I live some of the buses are hybrid and people like them because they are smoother and quieter than normally powered buses.

But we will change our lifestyles much more than you think.

As an example, these are things I do to avoid driving.

1. I get my big grocery shopping done at Waitrose in Upper Street in the normal way and then they just bring it round an hour or so later.  Even if I had a car, it would be less efficient and I’d to drive several miles to find a supermarket with a car park.
2. I walk to the end of my road to the Overground and can get a train or tube to virtually anywhere in London, quicker than I could drive.
3. For local trips, there are several efficient bus routes. 
4. Larger deliveries are easy, as delivery vehicles can park outside to unload.

So whether electric cars do hack it, I suspect that there are so many ideas to avoid driving, that they won’t be needed.

July 27, 2011 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel, World | Buses, Cars, Shopping