3 ways technology can drive e-transport revolution
Much more needs to be done to drive the e-transport revolution to achieve our environmental goals of banning car and diesel sales by 2030 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Chris Price reports
As in many areas of life, the pandemic has accelerated the pace of technological change. Video conferencing has become the norm for communication for many businesses, online shopping is now widespread among all age groups and new forms of transport are emerging to replace the internal combustion engine.
However, much more needs to be done to achieve the UK Government’s ambitious goal of banning petrol and diesel car sales by 2030 as well as an encouraging us all to cycle more and use new forms of transport, including e-scooters and e-bikes. Here, we look at three ways technology could help drive transport change in 2021 and beyond.
For the full article see here: https://www.transitionearth.co/2021/01/27/how-to-deliver-the-e-transport-revolution-the-five-big-changes-we-need-now/
1) Encourage e-scooter use
COVID has highlighted the demand for personal transport as people shun tubes, trains and buses for public health reasons. Yet the UK remains one of the few places in Europe where it is still illegal to ride owned devices such as e-scooters on public highways and pavements.
Thankfully attitudes are beginning to change. Huw Merriman, chair of the Transport Select Committee, told MPs a few months ago that e-scooters had the “potential to become an exciting and ingenious way to navigate our streets”. There are also currently several e-scooter rental scheme trials taking place right across the UK. One scooter company TIER recently announced it would let users trade in their private illegal e-scooters for credits of up to £150 for its rental e-scooter scheme.
2) Develop EVs with much greater range
Undoubtedly, electric vehicles (EVs) will play a crucial role in future transport strategy. However, according to the RAC’s recent Report on Motoring only 9% of those surveyed say their next car will be an EV (Electric Vehicle). That’s up from 6% the previous year but still very low. A large part of the reluctance to go electric is range anxiety – the fear of running out of power before reaching your destination. While the average stated range of the Top 10 Electric Vehicles is now 235 miles, drivers told the RAC they want an average of 375 miles – roughly the distance of Edinburgh to Cambridge.
3) Improve vehicle charging infrastructure
Related to the above is the fact that many homes, especially in the UK, don’t have their own drives to charge EVs. One innovative solution from YourParkingSpace.co.uk is to encourage people who have empty drives to rent them out to EV owners for parking and charging. It claims that around one in ten charging locations are now private driveways. However, much more needs to be done to improve public infrastructure too. Shockingly a recent Freedom of Information request from Centrica revealed that local councils are only planning to install 9,317 electric car charging points between now and 2025 – an average of just 35 per council!
For the full article see here: https://www.transitionearth.co/2021/01/27/how-to-deliver-the-e-transport-revolution-the-five-big-changes-we-need-now/
