Electric hire cars for London
London Mayor, Boris Johnson may follow in the footsteps of his Parisian counterpart by offering a public electric car hire scheme.
Bertrand Delanoë last year launched a successful mass cycle hire scheme in Paris , which will be followed in 2010 by Autolib – a pool of 4,000 electric cars sited across Paris and its suburbs, which drivers will be able to rent at any time.
Johnson believes a similar scheme could work in London and has set up the London Electric Vehicle Partnership to increase support for drivers of electric cars in the capital.
Can an electric car hire scheme work?
It seems likely that for the one third of Londoners who do not have a car and those for whom car ownership is an expensive if necessary evil, access to cheap, pay-as-you driving in an electric car will seem attractive. But how much is it likely to cost? Electric cars are cheap to run but expensive to buy. And whilst they have very few moving parts, electric cars have not yet been subjected to the rigours of a mass public hire scheme such as those proposed for Paris and London.
Electric car parking will not be free
London may be planning to flood its streets with electric cars, but the issue of parking and whether or not it will be free remains.
The City of London has since 2001 issued free parking passes to nearly 500 drivers of the zero-emission cars. But the scheme is being axed because the council feels commuters are adding to congestion by using the cars instead of walking, cycling or travelling by public transport.
New owners of electric vehicles will have to pay the standard charge of £4 an hour at meters.
According to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA), a commuter trading in an electric car (powered by a provider of sustainably-produced energy) in favour of public transport will increase their carbon footprint.
Related electric vehicle articles:
The Electric Vehicle network
The world’s fastest electric sports car
Electric cars – tell me more
Bicycles before batteries
Do electric cars pose a risk to pedestrians
Electric cars to be widespread by 2020
What is the ETA?
The ETA is an ethical organisation providing motorists and cyclists with green breakdown cover and green insurance products. The ETA exists in order to campaign for sustainable transport – when you buy our services you help fund our charitable work.
