Electric cars get a boost - as motorists await C-Charge consultation
Two new charging points for electric cars came into operation at Hammersmith Hospital today (Wednesday 13 August).
The new units were two of nine ‘Elektrobays’ that went live across south-west London, including two at Charing Cross Hospital, one in Richmond Park and one at the Wandle Recreation Centre in Wandsworth.
According to the website, SmartPlanet.com, electric car owners will be able to recharge as often as they like for an annual fee of £100.
Electric car-owners are Congestion Charge exempt, can park for free in central London, do not pay road tax and pay low insurance premiums.
The new charging units come into operation as an online poll shows that 79 per cent of west Londoners want to see the western extension of the Congestion Charge scrapped.
Of the 553 votes cast in the council-run poll, 79 per cent of respondents said they wanted the extension removed, 17 per cent said they wanted it improved and 4 per cent said they were not interested either way.
The western extension was launched in the face of major public opposition in February 2007.
The West London Residents' Association (WLRA), which fought against its introduction, has said it will campaign for the scheme to go. WLRA Chairman Gordon Taylor said: “We have 14,000 members and the overwhelming majority want the extension scrapped. The reality of the extension is that it is losing money, has no environmental benefit, is damaging the local economy and the 58,000 people within the extension, who now get a 90 per cent discount to travel into central London, are making congestion even worse.”
The Mayor of London is expected to hold a formal consultation on the western extension in September. It will be open to residents and businesses across London but the Mayor has said he particularly wants to hear from people living in and around the zone.
13 August 2008
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