As a paraplegic I’m confronted by a daily litany of issues in the real world that makes life a real pain in the arse. BEV access etc are the least of my issues. I’ve taken a punt on an BEV (it’s currently at the dealer awaiting mods) fully in the knowledge of some big problems relating to us cripples: Lack of accessible public chargers. Physical weight of fast charger cables. And that’s it, I thought the list would be longer. The other issues affect all able bodied BEV users; home charging (without this I wouldn’t get a BEV), the prohibitive costs of public charging, reliability of public chargers, real world range. I’m prepared to plan my longer journeys (my first test will be a day round trip for work to north Norfolk in couple of weeks) and am happy to drive electric motor vehicles, especially after 2 Mitsubishi PHEVs. I’m afraid that change is on the way (and it’s for the best) and I hope that us early adopters will help pave the way and help highlight accessibility issues for other users in the future.
Well done you and just to add in the norm
If someone was able to top up at a petrol station then doing the same at a EV charger is often a breeze
No more having to go to the pay desk and having to queue when EV charging
Sainsburys smart charge stations are setting the standard and are ALL fully accessible
They have charging hubs located at Sainsbury’s stores around the UK, all with access to 24/7 driver support. see link then look for smart charger location map link
If like me home charging is the norm then like me being the average car driver in the UK who only ever drives between 5,000 and 8,000 miles per year then any accessibility issues that may be faced on the rare occcassions when needing to charge away from home can often be overcome simply by pre-planning.
Best Wishes
https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/our-strategy/our-brands/smart-charge
