‘Totally public charging’ drives a SEAT Mii Electric 2021 and shares her experiences to-date on public charging.
What do you think of the UK public charging network in general?
Could be better especially in areas outside of large towns. There are relatively few charging points in small villages such as the one I live in. Nearest chargers are in the next but one village but the feral kids in the social housing nearby think it’s fun to damage the display. There are now 8 chargers in a town 4 miles away and 4 in another 5 miles away. I am fortunate to be able to access charge points at work and top up in a few hours there usually once a week. There’s no off-road parking so no home chargers are possible and we have over 50% of the population in this county.
What and where are your favourite UK public chargers?
Pod Points at work and Tesco in nearest town. Mer in both nearby towns and Osprey rapid chargers at a retail park halfway between home and work. I like being able to prepay for charge in the Pod Point app So know up front I have money to charge when I need to. With the Mer and Osprey chargers I can also pay using an Electric Juice card so don’t need yet another app.
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What’s been your best experience with a UK public charger & your SEAT Mii Electric?
Pod Points are just So easy once you have set up the app. Open the app and it pinpoints where you are. Tap the relevant charger and side a or b if it is a double point. Connect your cable, accept the charge and you are done. To end, you just unlock your cable, stow it and go. I really like that I can see how much I have paid for all charging since last November.
What’s been your worst experience with a UK public charger & your SEAT Mii Electric?
Oh dear! I have made several tries at charging using GeniePoint chargers. I have never yet managed to obtain any successful connection and their support team were woeful. A close second was trying to use some new points in Oadby which are EB points. Seriously confusing trying to work out which point I was trying to connect to. It took longer than the errand I was running was going to take so gave up and went elsewhere.
What’s got to change about public charging in the UK to get more people driving electric cars?
Simple & easy to use with either a single card such as Electric Juice or being able to use a debit or credit card instead of needing so many different apps. A LOT more rapid chargers at places like service stations on major routes and in shopping centre car parks. I now choose where I shop based on the ability to top up my battery.
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