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Boris plans electric car hire scheme for London
Katharine Barney and Peter Allen in Paris2 Mar 2009
BORIS JOHNSON is planning an electric car hire scheme for London in which users pick up a battery-powered vehicle in one part of the city and drop it off in another.
The Mayor said today he wanted to make London a "world leader" in the promotion of the environmentally-friendly vehicles.
He added: "At this stage it is important to ensure we fully understand the potential market for electric vehicles in London so that we can trigger a demand for this type of technology. My goal is for London to become the electric vehicle capital of Europe."
The plan mirrors a Paris scheme which will be in place by the end of the year.
The "Autolib" car programme, modelled on a highly successful bicycle-hire scheme, will see 4,000 electric cars sited across the French capital and its suburbs which drivers will be able to use at any time. The brainchild of its Socialist mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, it will see some 700 pick-up points established across the city, with 200 underground.
Mr Delanoë has described the scheme as "a system of individual journeys that are completely clean". The cars will be released using a credit card, or with a pre-ordered subscription card.
Mr Johnson has also announced plans to bring in 6,000 bicycles to the capital by next year to be run in a similar way to the Paris bicycle hire scheme. The Mayor has already pledged extra funding for a network of car recharging points in Westminster and has et up a forum aimed at increasing the number of electric cars. Sales of electric cars are currently small. One of the biggest problems for the scheme will be installing electric charging points, which cost £3,000 each.
Currently Westminster council has 60 charging points - 12 on the street and 48 points in car parks. However, for a London-wide blueprint experts say hundreds of charging bays would be needed.
In a Commons written answer, transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick said a total of 4,929 new battery-powered vehicles had been registered since 2004, and a total of 1,322 battery-powered cars took to the UK's roads last year, down from 1,374 in 2007.
Commenting on the plan for London, Caroline Watson, of the Energy Saving Trust, said: "This is a brilliant idea and exactly the kind of innovative leadership we need. Electric vehicles are a new, and relatively untested technology, so this would be a great way for people to test the technology. It may even be that for many Londoners, a car hire scheme which is easy to use is all they need."
In Paris, prices of €200-€250 a month are being suggested to drive up to 60 miles a day. Mr Delanoë has already doubled the projected number of cars from 2,000 to 4,000 and expanded the target area beyond the ring road. The electric cars are expected to be no bigger than Smart cars.
Mr Delanoë said: "There will be a computerised system which allows you as soon as you collect the car to announce where you'll drop it off, so there will be a parking space available."
One target group is young couples with children who occasionally need a car to shop or travel but cannot afford to run their own. Tourists would also enjoy the freedom of having a car available without having to worry about it when not in use.
But Green party councillors in Paris warned that encouraging the public to use any type of car, instead of giving incentives to stick to bikes and public transport, was a bad move.
Denis Baupin, a Green party deputy mayor said: "If this scheme encourages people to pick up these cars every day, using them to go into work and back instead of using bikes or the metro, crowding roads and changing habits, that's a problem."
At the first meeting of the London Electric Vehicle Partnership late last year, representatives of the motor and energy industries and London boroughs agreed a plan to sharply increase the use of electric cars in the city.
Reader views (33)
I would have thought someone with his outstanding intellect would have seen past it as a scheme by which the political classes can raid the coffers of the people without them crying foul.
Then again, perhaps Boris isn't the maverick we voted in. Maybe, in fact, he's been sucked into the political quagmire in a way that just wasn't seemly farther up the Thames.
- Andrew, London, 13/03/2009 00:45
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Very well done,in my view one of the best ways to get out of this crisis (alas,the times are tough) is putting forward small,constructive projects,like this one in fact. .Let me also mention recycling:people cretivity is lead towards tangible,small gains,that have an impact in everday-life.This not only prevents social conflicts but leads to a more responsible life-style,based on modern technologies.
- Andre, switzerland, 03/03/2009 14:48
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It will be interesting to see the actual costs, and availability at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, I'm building a solar powered vehicle myself, that doesn't need to be plugged into a recharging point, to keep our travel costs ultra low.
- Nanos, Southall, 03/03/2009 12:02
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Look at GM's Volt vehicle for the answer. These vehicles will have a range of 100 miles. Average speeds in London are 7 mph so the car can run for 12+ hours. Night rates for electricity are cheap and modern batteries can be topped up quite quickly.
- James Macleod Ritchie, Oyster Bay Cove
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Night rates are cheap at the moment - James Macleod Ritchie, Oyster Bay Cove, until there are enough of them are "Hooked" up to the charging system, then watch the price skyrocket, just like they did with diesel fuel!
At one time, diesel was a lot cheaper than petrol,....now look at the price!
GERONIMO
- Geronimo, LONDON MIDDLESEX, 03/03/2009 05:18
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Where does the electricity to charge the cars come from? Coal? Gas? Nuclear? Hardly green unless its renewables and we dont have enough of that even without these cars.
- Worktimesurfer, London, 02/03/2009 21:39
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I’m all for progress but this is not progress. Why add another costly ‘have a go’ idea when we cannot even resolve any of the fundamental ones? Don’t you ever think that both ourselves and the government are chicken?
Most of us are probably anxious to get rid of the internal combustion engine and move on to electric or fuel cell motors etc. but its never that simple is it, battery technology is greedy for exotic stuff and fuel cell requires loads of a primary energy source to produce it. Its not rocket science is it, it all adds up somewhere. So instead of half baked ideas like small cars chained to lamp posts why can we not have funky bus tram taxi and cycle parking in order to get about our fair city in, get shot of the cars in the city altogether and wham! Change for the better. Folks will bitch and whine but give them a few months and like sheep they will (we) all fall into a happy new routine. I should think if we the public could see the cost of all our governments ‘seen to be doing’ polices it would make us very… well upset to say the leas
- T J Baldwin, Devizes Wiltshire, 02/03/2009 19:26
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Dhanraj,like it or not,the internal combustion engine will be out in 25 years,or possibly less.Great idea.
- H.J.Jones, London UK, 02/03/2009 18:38
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Is this as well as the bike scheme (like Velib in Paris and the scheme in Barcelona) or instead of it?
- Mcw, London, 02/03/2009 17:35
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I thought that electric cars were being phased out because of the new advances with the more efficient hydrogen fuel cells? This would mean that all the energy that has gone into making the electric cars would be a waste in a few years.
- Isabel, Woking, 02/03/2009 16:08
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At least BoJo is coming up with positive ideas for Londoners. I hope this scheme works, as it has the potential to transform London.
- Neil M., london uk,, 02/03/2009 16:00
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It'll never work. We all know what happens when the batteries run out. The cars get stuck up in the loft and forgotten. Its C5 all over again. Like it or not the internal combustion engine is with us for another 100 years.
- Dhanraj, basildon, 02/03/2009 15:36
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Electric cars could be part of a new system, where public transport is not convenient for every journey - say for shopping purposes or transporting elderly parents and so on. Electrics are more flexible in their ultimate energy source than cars or diesel buses. Maybe it's time for Trolley-buses to make a return?
- Alex Mckenna, Manchester, 02/03/2009 15:16
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Look at GM's Volt vehicle for the answer. These vehicles will have a range of 100 miles. Average speeds in London are 7 mph so the car can run for 12+ hours. Night rates for electricity are cheap and modern batteries can be topped up quite quickly. Better still get rid of the diesel bus monsters and replace them with battery buses. I am submitting a design right now that will overcome all the naysayers claptrap. These vehicles can be locked and can be pass controlled with access to registered users. Damage etc will be easily tracked and charged to delinquents. As for smoking in these vehicles, airlines have detectors which stop this so sensors in a car can do the same! The pathetic Livingstone supporters out there simply cannot handle defeat. Good riddance to Red Ken! Go for it Boris!
- James Macleod Ritchie, Oyster Bay Cove, 02/03/2009 15:10
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Everything I've read about electric vehicles suggests that they need several hours to recharge their batteries after use.
So how will the system cope with the necessary downtime between users? At what point in the charging cycle will a car be available to a new user? And if you take one of these and the remaining charge is insufficient to get you to a fresh charging point, what do you do then? What if all the charging points at your destination are occupied?
I think this plan raises more questions than answers - at least with bikes you only have your legs to blame.
- Brian Clapham, London, 02/03/2009 14:07
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This car and cycle schemes borrowed from Paris' socialist mayor. Does Boris have a single original idea? It's nearly a year since he came to power and there's very little to point to. By the same period, Ken had the congestion charge up and running and a host of other policies. This current joke is wearing very thin.
- Tony Mcmahon, London, UK, 02/03/2009 14:00
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Boris is doing one thing very well; exposing those people who campaigned against him as charlatans and frauds and they are falling into his trap without hesitation!
The next time Labour tells us how an opponent is environmentally-unfriendly, I hope we remember how swiftly they have turned on Boris for being “too” environmentally friendly. It’s pretty low, using the environment as a guise for partisanship, but thankfully it was as foolish and obvious a plan as we’ve ever seen from the floundering Labour party and its supporters and enough of us saw through it.
Go Boris, keep it up, this is an excellent idea and anyone who has used StreetCar will know it can work.
- St, London, 02/03/2009 13:51
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Yet more pie in the sky policy promises form Boris.
Electric cars are hardly environmentally friendly and they will not improve congestion either. Properly funded public transport is the best option for any city.
- Bruce Edwards, London, 02/03/2009 13:26
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I just hope they don't replace black cabs and red buses on the postcards ........
- Marianne, SW France, 02/03/2009 13:08
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So some disqualified driver can borrow a mates credit card and start driving round London
That's making London Safer is it ??
- Jeanette Eccles-Hgs, London, 02/03/2009 12:48
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I suspect they'll put surveillance cameras inside the vehicles. Would have been a nice idea otherwise.
- Neil M., london uk,, 02/03/2009 12:40
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It isn't as simple as putting yr card in a slot.You need to register for the service which means only LEGAL drivers will be entitled to hire the car.
- A Moreno, Luxembourg, 02/03/2009 12:39
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People on their own can get about on public transport. I need a car to carry equipment, and bags of stuff. These small cars are no use.
- Alan In Bow, London, 02/03/2009 12:19
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Who is going to finance this dream?
Why the hard pressed tax payer.
When Rome burns dare I say who is on the fXXXX ?
- Bernard Parke, GUILDFORD, 02/03/2009 12:14
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I like the sentiments behind what Boris is doing but generating electricity to recharge these electric cars takes a lot of energy. Surely cycles are the real answer but how do you park and store them in London? I recently found a company that Boris should be talking to. Look at www.hbdesigns.co.uk
They are onto something really clever.
- Chris Mallet, Devizes, Wiltshire, 02/03/2009 12:09
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I can't see how anyone could have a problem with this idea. Electric cars are the future... I would like to see this scheme rolled out even wider. We don’t need to run cars on oil anymore… I wonder why we still do then! Maybe it’s the billions of pounds it generates for the greedy capitalists who control it.
- Paul Byrne, London, 02/03/2009 12:08
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Excellent idea - this works very well in France.
- Clive, London, UK, 02/03/2009 11:59
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Dave/Peter,
I am a regular user of Streetcar, which operates on the same basis. The cars a left in specially marked bays on public streets. The security system means that a thief would have to be extremely sophisticated to steal one and in the many times I have used them I have never seen a single car vandalised.
- Marcus, London, 02/03/2009 11:51
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I love these!
- Jeffrey, UK, 02/03/2009 11:29
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Nice idea but we all know that some people will smoke in them, leave food wrappers and rubbish everywhere inside and maybe vomit in them too. Taxi drivers have enough trouble - and they are actually there to supervise!
- Thomas, London, 02/03/2009 11:29
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So just by putting mt credit card details into a machine i can hire one of these cars,what checks will be put in place to show that i am actually eligible to drive.Although i do have a drivers licence i dont own a car, what insurance cover would i have?
- David, London, 02/03/2009 11:26
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Electric vehicles may have their place, but it would be wrong to consider them as a panacea for mobility.
World shortage of battery raw materials means that available technology won't see conventional cars replaced wholesale. Also EU directives are likely to see 35%-40% of the UK's power generating capacity close down by 2015 (and some even earlier?)
How will we get around in in our G-Wizzes when there isn't any mains power? Answers on a postcard, please, Gordon Brown...
- Jools, London, 02/03/2009 11:21
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If these fabulous 'targets' aren't parked within or adjacent vigilently secure 'supervising premises', like say 'manned' police stations, bus and rail stations or NCP car parks, then they'll be vandalised in broad daylight in Brown's Banana Republic!
- Dave, cumbria, 02/03/2009 11:03
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Thieves and yobs must just be wringing their hand with glee and just who is going to pay to implement and manage this hair brained idea? Environmentally a good idea and sorry to say practically to operate a nono.
- Peter Noterfed, Paris, France, 02/03/2009 11:01
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