by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
While electric vehicle charging points in London are spreading in a virus-like fashion and the use of electric vehicles (EVs) is rising June 20th saw the announcement of changes in the City of London's parking concessions for electric vehicles.
Those that currently park electric vehicles in the area of the City of London under the borough's electric vehicle scheme will see an increase in on-street parking from zero to £50 per year. Off-street parking, in the City's car parks, will go from nil to £2,000 per year in 2009. According to information this fee for off-street will then further increase to £4,000 per year by 2010 and to £6396 in 2011, making it then the same as the charges for a standard cars with internal combustion engines.
The reason for this dramatic change by the City of London that the borough has given is that although the programme had proved very successful it had, in their view, encouraged increased vehicle use within the borough.
No one, however, mentioned the subsequent air quality improvements through the use of zero emission vehicles anywhere in the announcement.
While the owners of electric vehicles (EVs) and advocates and dealers of those may lament this move by the Square Mile as a step backwards, the council justified its decision by arguing that those incentives had actually increased traffic in the area.
We can only assume that it was encouraging owners of electric vehicles from neighboring boroughs to park in the City of London where there was no charge for parking.
One can only believe that the borough has realized that too many people have switched from ICE vehicles to electric vehicles and that their parking revenues have gone down and they are worried to have this revenue disappear altogether over time.
Furthermore it may have been taking people away from London’s extensive public transit network. In both cases losing revenue to the boroughs and the coffers of the capital as a whole.
This does, obviously, draw on an interesting and continuing debate in the green movement, which is – do we encourage alternative private vehicles, or do we encourage alternatives to private vehicles? I tend to think the answer must be both. At times, unfortunately, will be occassions when one goal conflicts with the other.
In a complete contrast to the City of London's announcement, officials in Paris announced the start of an ambitious electric vehicle rental scheme. By the end of 2009, it is anticipated there will be 4,000 electric cars available for hire within Paris following the success of a similar bicycle rental scheme.
For those who are not familiar with London, The City of London is the area that is also known as the “Square Mile” and is but a small borough within central London. The term city of London here does not refer to the entire capital.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
City of London parking concession changes
