London to lead the way with electric cars

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

London is to become the “electric car capital of the world”, according to the city’s mayor Boris Johnson. He aims to achieve this by encouraging the use of 100,000 EVs in the capital “as soon as possible” and by introducing 25,000 e-car charging points in the city by 2015.

To help deliver this plan, Johnson plans to create a Dedicated Electric Vehicle Centre of Excellence (DEVCoE) within the Greater London Authority. The GLA will install and fund 2,500 charging points and the remainder will be run by London boroughs and other bodies partnering with the GLA in the scheme.The DEVCoE will liaise with other member cities of the Climate Leadership Group (known as the C40 group) – such as Los Angeles, Toronto, Delhi, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Beijing – that are also working on similar developments for EV infrastructures.

The GLA-funded charging system will be split into three categories: Slow, Fast, and Rapid charge points. Around 70 slow-charge points (13A, 240V) will be installed in London Underground car parks and another 84 in National Rail car parks and long-stay public car parks; these points will be able to charge a car over several hours. The aim is to have 2,000 of these in place by 2015. Around 50 fast-charge points – 32A, 240V three-phase supplies able to charge an EV in around 30 minutes – will be distributed around London by 2012. The capabilities of rapid-charge points – 200A, 500V three-phase supplies able to charge up a Tesla S in five minutes – are still being investigated.How is the target figure of 100,000 EVs to be achieved? The GLA fleet will include 1,000 EVs by 2015, while the remaining 99,000 will roll out over the next six years as the result of corporate and private users being encouraged to exchange their petrol-run vehicles for e-cars and electric trucks. Incentives to move this along will include free parking and exemption from the congestion charge, as well as the £5,000 government rebate for e-cars beginning in 2011.

However there are dissenting voices in the electric car debate, with some scientists suggesting the e-car is being overhyped. Richard Pike, head of the Royal Chemistry Society, said, “The myths of the electric car centre on its energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and low operating costs…Unfortunately, none of these are true.”  Furthermore, a report by analyst Frost and Sullivan says that for the widespread adoption of EVs to succeed, at least four charging points per vehicle must be made available – which means London alone would need 250,000 charge points by 2015 rather than the 25,000 foreseen by the GLA.Full details of the scheme, including who will pay for the charging posts and what exactly will be the role of GLA’s partners, are to be disclosed in November.

For press enquiries, please contact Peter Cooper on 020 7183 7247
Email: info@247parking.com
Web: www.247parking.com News provided by 24 7 Parking Ltd, a leading marketing services provider to the car parking industry in the UK, and a leading de facto marketplace for buyers and sellers, or lessees and lessors, of car parking spaces.24 7 Parking carries out daily surveys of the national media to provide up-to-date news and commentary on UK transport.

Station car parks “rip off” rail users

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Rail users are being “ripped off” to the tune of over £1bn a year for parking at station car parks, according to a rail union.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), which surveyed more than 1,000 station car parks in England and Scotland, found that parking a car can be more expensive than the journey itself, with charges reaching £20 an hour in some station car parks. The union accused Network Rail and train operators of further exploiting passengers, who have already been hit with fare increases three times this year.

General secretary Gerry Doherty said that “passengers are being ripped off simply because they are a captive audience. They are already paying the most expensive fares in Europe and now we find they are paying the highest car parking charges as well.”

Among the most expensive station car parks are Birmingham New Street, which charges £55 for 4 hours, then £20 per hour; Manchester Piccadilly, which charges £35 for 5 hours, then £20 per hour; Glasgow Central, which charges £35 for 5 hours, then £20 per hour; London Euston, which charges £16 for 8 hours and £22 all day; and London Paddington, which charges £14 for 8 hours and £22 all day.

The union called on the government to include car parking charges in the fares formula which prevents rail companies from increasing regulated fares by more than 1% above inflation every year.

However the rail industry was dismissive of the accusations, saying that the union was quoting selectively and the high charges were for short-term car parks.One way for passengers to avoid the exorbitant costs of station car parks is to obtain season ticket parking from companies such as 24 7 Parking, which offer secure parking at convenient locations across London and the UK. For press enquiries, please contact Peter Cooper on 020 7183 7247
Email: info@247parking.com

Web: www.247parking.com News provided by 24 7 Parking Ltd, a leading marketing services provider to the car parking industry in the UK, and a leading de facto marketplace for buyers and sellers, or lessees and lessors, of car parking spaces.

24 7 Parking carries out daily surveys of the national media to provide up-to-date news and commentary on UK transport.
 

Speed-curbing technology to be tested this summer

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

Motorists could soon see their vehicles fitted with a device that prevents them from exceeding the speed limit. Known as Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), the technology will be  undergoing a six-month trial by Transport for London, starting this summer on all roads inside the M25.

The device works by pinpointing a vehicle’s exact location via satellite tracking and a digital road map, and then comparing the location against a comprehensive road database to see whether that vehicle is within the speed limit on any given stretch of road.

When the vehicle reaches the speed limit, the device’s sophisticated electronics intervene to prevent any further acceleration.

Motorists will have the choice of two modes, advisory and voluntary, as well as an override option which disables the system. The advisory setting will inform the driver of the speed limit for the road they are driving on and whether or not they are complying. In the voluntary mode, when the speed limit is reached the accelerator is prevented from speeding up the vehicle.

Transport for London estimates that the number of road casualties in the capital could be cut by 10% if two-thirds of London’s drivers adopt the new technology.

The digital map for the area being tested cost £220,000 and the government plans to create a nationwide map so the ISA system can be rolled out across the country. The ISA trial units cost £400,000 to develop. The system has been welcomed by Southwark Council, which plans to order 300 ISA units for its own fleet, with other local authorities expected to follow.

Tfl’s trial fleet that will be testing the device includes cars, a bus, and a black cab, and will evaluate the technology’s impact on road safety and congestion, as well as monitor driver behaviour, journey times, and the way that vehicle emissions will be effected by driving within the speed limit.

While the ISA system is seen as the “holy grail” by road safety campaigners, who hope it will become mandatory across Britain, it also has its critics, some of whom say it undermines motorists’ freedom and could actually hinder rather than improve road safety by stopping drivers from thinking. Some motoring campaigners are alarmed that the device – which could add around £500 to the production cost of a car – is another case of state interference. Opinions will no doubt be revised once TfL reveals its findings in a report on the trial next year.

For press enquiries, please contact Peter Cooper on 020 7183 7247

Email: info@247parking.com
Web: www.247parking.com

News provided by 24 7 Parking Ltd, a leading marketing services provider to the car parking industry in the UK, and a leading de facto marketplace for buyers and sellers, or lessees and lessors, of car parking spaces.

24 7 Parking carries out daily surveys of the national media to provide up-to-date news and commentary on UK transport.

Tube improvements threatened by funding crisis

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

A major funding crisis is looming over London’s overcrowded and underfunded public transport network, which faces a huge shortfall despite the government’s investment of a record £40bn to pay for Crossrail and upgrades to the tube system. Transport for London says that the amount is not enough to cover the £16bn trans-London Crossrail project and the sorely-needed tube improvements. But the Department for Transport insists that no more funds are available. 

Baroness Jo Valentine, chief executive of the business group London First, has warned that the promised government funding, which was welcomed as a major boost for the city two years ago, is now seen as insufficient for a deteriorating tube network whose repair bill alone is increasing by billions of pounds. The group said that London Underground’s finances should stand up to increased scrutiny or the city could risk losing some of the promised £40bn in a public finance squeeze. 

The funding dispute between the government and London Underground is complicated by an ongoing political battle over whether the public or private sector is best-equipped for maintaining the tube network. After the private contractor Metronet went bust in 2007, its job of maintaining and upgrading three-quarters of the network was taken over by LU, with the remainder maintained by Tube Lines, the only company left in the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme set up by the government in 2003. Tim O’Toole, the former head of LU until April, had made a strong case for the transferring of Metronet to the public sector, saying that the taxpayer would get a better deal, but Tube Lines has argued that there was no evidence that Metronet had become more efficient under LU management. 

As the battle over funding continues, what looks certain is that not all of the improvements and upgrades planned for the tube network will take place – a blow for London’s long-suffering tube passengers, who can only hope that huge fare hikes will not be considered an option for plugging the revenue gap. 

For press enquiries, please contact Peter Cooper on 020 7183 7247

Email: info@247parking.com  Web: www.247parking.com 

News provided by 24 7 Parking Ltd, a leading marketing services provider to the car parking industry in the UK, and a leading de facto marketplace for buyers and sellers, or lessees and lessors, of car parking spaces. 

24 7 Parking carries out daily surveys of the national media to provide up-to-date news and commentary on UK transport.