‘Green-rage’ boils over: Furious gran blasts EV owner who charged their cars for 17 HOURS in area where there are just two charge points (and experts warn it’s only going to get WORSE) – as drivers fight for spaces
- Some cars are being left to charge for excessive amounts of time, drivers warn
- Drivers at Thurrock services have seen people in spats over charging points
- How is green rage affecting you? Email [email protected]
A grandmother has taken to social media to blast an electric vehicle owner who left their car in one of just two local charging points for more than 17 hours in the latest incident of ‘green rage’.
Elaine, who has five children and ten grandchildren, shared a photograph of a charging point with an electric screen showing the car had been plugged in for 17 hours and 36 minutes.
She wrote: ‘This is the sort of thing that causes charge rage’.
Electric vehicle owners are increasingly arguing with each other over charging points in certain parts of the UK because there are not enough available.
Many are claiming they are having to get up in the dead of night to power up their motors.
Experts warn the problem is set to get worse before it gets better, with an expected increase in demand for electric vehicles outstripping the current supply of chargers.
But after weeks of frustration Elaine took to social media to vent about ‘selfish’ drivers as she explained there are only two charging points in her whole village.
A grandmother snapped a photo of one of just two charging points in her village, claiming one vehicle ‘makes a habit’ of leaving their car there for excessive amounts of time
‘One car makes a habit of this,’ she wrote, branding the driver ‘selfish and infuriating’.
The 17-hour charge time is far beyond what electric vehicles usually need, even if filling the battery up from empty.
Households with a charger fitted at home can expect a fully-charged car from empty in between two to seven hours, depending on the charging speed they pick, the RAC says.
Meanwhile public charging points can power up an electric vehicle in as little as 25 minutes – but some slower plugs may still take between six and 12 hours
Some service stations marshals are being brought in to police frustrated drivers.
The boss of Britain’s largest motorway service provider, Moto chief executive Ken McMeikan, said long waits for plug-in points made drivers ‘very angry and stressed’.
The chain has recruited marshals at three separate locations which have seen a particular surge in frustration.
Moto, which runs 49 motorway services around the UK, has already introduced marshals at Exeter, Rugby and Wetherby to manage EV queues and prevent conflicts during busy periods.
Mr McMeikan, 58, who drives an EV himself, said he had told the Government of the problem and warned ministers that public disorder incidents would grow.
The latest figures show there were 850,000 electric vehicles on UK roads at the end of August, with a further 530,000 plug-in hybrids.
The Government aims to install 300,000 charging points by 2030, but is far away from that target with just 48,000 public charging points – the equivalent of one per 29 cars.
Taxi driver Olu Sodipo, 50, drives a £59,000 Mercedes E-van and has seen spats around Heathrow
Drivers living near Thurrock services near the M25 are seemingly spoilt for choice, as it now boasts three rows of charging points, amounting to around 30 in total
But these charging points are not evenly distributed, and not all cars can use all types of chargers.
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Motoring analyst Amanda Stretton told BBC Breakfast today: ‘Consistently over the last five, six, seven years, data has shown that range anxiety and therefore where you can actually charge is one of the highest factoring decisions in people’s choices.
‘So if stories like this, where they’re not confident that when they’re away from home, where generally they’re going to have a home charger, are going to be impacting them and their journeys, it’s only going to make things worse.’
‘In terms of other countries we’re actually not doing too bad in the infrastructure rollout.
‘We’re consistently in the top 10 but […] we need more and we need more very quickly.’
She added the UK is ‘woefully off’ the 300,000 target, adding coverage is ‘very glitchy.’
She said: ‘As you say, it’s very much concentrated in certain areas, because what the Government has done is they have put all their eggs in the basket of going down commercial enterprises, rather than putting in the infrastructure through councils themselves.
‘They are relying very heavily on the commercial, on businesses, to put charging ports in, rather than looking at the network of roads that we have and making sure it is evenly distributed across the country.’
She added businesses tend to look for ‘the largest footfall’ when placing charging stations, and blamed this for the ‘density’ of charging points in urban areas, compared to a ‘desert’ in others.
At Thurrock services on the M25, drivers living nearby are seemingly spoilt for choice, as it now boasts three rows of charging points, amounting to around 30 in total.
Locals say it is the only place in the area to have so many, whereas other points in the car parks or nearby supermarkets, pubs and gyms are coveted and occasionally fought over.
One motorist is so fed up he has decided to ditch his electric vehicle and go back to diesel.
Ray Lee, an Uber driver of five years who lives in nearby Grays, Essex, says he has witnessed arguments over charging points.
While at a service station he told MailOnline: ‘Sometimes I get up at four or five am just to charge the car, because I know it would be busy in the day.’
The 72-year-old is now taking his second electric vehicle – an MG – back, adding: ‘I am giving it back next week because of the stress. I will go back to my diesel car because it’s easier.’
The father-of-four and grandfather-of-five explained: ‘There aren’t enough charging points.
‘There’s one in Grays and two near the Sainsbury’s, so when people say [someone] is taking too long they start fighting. I’ve not seen it get violent but they argue with each other.
‘One time I had to go to Basildon (15 miles away) to charge my car at the BP station there.’
Mr Lee says he has sometimes waited between an hour and an hour and a half to charge his car, due to queues of other electric car drivers.
Nav, 46, who did not wish to give his surname, said he is equally unhappy with his Volkswagen e-Golf because of how frequently he has to charge it
Some charging points – including the entire back row at Thurrock services, which were only introduced around a month ago – are exclusively for Tesla cars
Locals say the service station is the only place in the area to have so many charging points, whereas other points in the car parks of nearby supermarkets, pubs and gyms are coveted
Mihai Cascaval, a Romanian taxi driver living in east London, owns a Tesla Model 3. He believes problems occur more frequently between drivers of electric cars other than Teslas
The charging points at the Moto Service Station, in Thurrock. But some drivers say they’re ditching their electric vehicle as they’re fed up with having to queue to charge their car
Father-of-three Olu Sodipo (left) has seen many arguments while Nav (right) fears the spats might turn violent one day
‘This is my second electric car. I had the first one for 11 months – a Kia Niro. I returned it because of the lack of infrastructure.
READ MORE: Now marshals are being brought in to police ‘charge rage’ rows between electric vehicle drivers as long waits for plug-in points are making motorists ‘angry and stressed’
‘Sometimes I had to get up at four or five am just to charge the car, because I knew it would be busy in the day.
‘Even this one, the MG, gives me 165 miles for a full charge – but really it’s about 140 or 150 miles. If you put on the air con it goes right down.
‘I am giving it back next week because of the stress. I will go back to my diesel car because it’s easier.’
Mr Lee also claimed the charging points often do not work, and says he once waited from 7.30pm until 4.30am just to charge his car.
He also says he has had to queue for around two hours when charging spots are busy.
Nav, who did not wish to give his surname, said he is equally unhappy with his Volkswagen e-Golf because of how frequently he has to charge it.
The 46-year-old has had the car for less than six months and said: ‘If you use the heating or the air con, it halves the electricity.
‘A few months ago we went to Wales and on the way there we only had to charge the car once.
Inderjeet Singh – a car parking attendant working at the service station – still believes the infrastructure to support electric cars is not yet present in the UK
The 39-year-old says he has never seen the Tesla spots packed, but says some of the other charging points often don’t work
Some charging points – including the entire back row at Thurrock services, which were only introduced around a month ago – are exclusively for Tesla cars
Many electric car drivers said the north of the country is far worse in terms of infrastructure, and one driver claimed there was only one charging point between Wales and Birmingham on the M50
Many electric car drivers were adamant that the north of the country is far worse off in terms of infrastructure
‘But on the way back we had to charge three times because we were coming back at night and had the headlights on.’
READ MORE: EV charging points now in home buyers’ top 10 must-haves… but do they add value to a property?
Nav added that one time he had been asleep in his car whilst it was charging, when someone angrily snatched the cable from his car and plugged theirs in instead.
He said he believes disputes may become more frequent as the number of people buying electric cars is increasing at a faster rate than new charging points are being set up.
‘I haven’t seen any fights yet, but soon, maybe,’ he added.
Taxi driver Olu Sodipo, 50, drives a £59,000 Mercedes E-van which can fit seven people and drives around 230 miles when fully charged.
He too has also seen spats at charging points around Heathrow.
The father-of-three, who lives in South Ockendon in Essex, said: ‘In Shepperton [in Surrey], near Heathrow, there are arguments – because it’s right next to the airport.
‘When you go there you don’t know who’s queuing and who’s not, so when you try to move into an empty space some people say, “I was here first!”
‘Other people sometimes mitigate and it doesn’t get violent, but it does happen.
Mihai Cascaval, a Romanian taxi driver living in east London, owns a Tesla Model 3. He believes problems occur more frequently between drivers of electric cars other than Teslas.
The boss of Britain’s largest motorway service provider, Moto, said long waits for plug-in points made drivers ‘very angry and stressed’
Charging points at the Moto Service Station in Thurrock, Essex
It is feared the infrastructure needed for the eco-car boom will take another 10 to 15 years in the UK
A Tesla owner said the queues for the motor’s spots ‘are never bad – maybe 15 to 20 minutes max – but I have never seen disputes around it and I charge my car every day’
Some charging points – including the entire back row at Thurrock services, which were only introduced around a month ago – are exclusively for Teslas.
READ MORE: The 30 used electric cars that plunged in price most in the past turbulent year for EV owners
Mr Cascaval, 33, says it’s also cheaper for Tesla owners to charge their vehicles.
He said: ‘I’ve heard about people arguing over charging spots and I have seen people queuing for them.
‘But the queues for Tesla spots are never bad – maybe 15 to 20 minutes max – but I have never seen disputes around it and I charge my car every day.
‘Maybe you get it with other electric vehicle owners, but not with Tesla.
‘It’s much better to drive a Tesla. It’s 45p per kilowatt – or between 12 and 4am it could be as low as 20p. It’s pretty cheap.
‘But the other ones [charging points] are about 80p per kilowatt.’
However, Inderjeet Singh – a car parking attendant working at the service station – still believes the infrastructure to support electric cars is not yet present in the UK.
The 39-year-old says he has never seen the Tesla spots packed, but says some of the other charging points often don’t work.
Moto chief executive Ken McMeikan (pictured) warned that the UK’s motorway service stations are facing growing ‘public disorder’ due to a lack of grid connections preventing him from installing enough car chargers to meet surging demand
‘I wouldn’t get an electric car,’ the father-of-four, who lives in Grays, said.
‘I will stick to petrol. It’s not just the infrastructure… You pay all that money and you could get a petrol car with a good bang to it for the same price.
‘I was watching Panorama a few weeks ago and it said we need another 10 or 15 years to get the infrastructure here.
‘Germany is ready and China is ready, but the UK is not even there yet.’
Many electric car drivers said the North of the country is far worse in terms of infrastructure, and one claimed there was only one charging point between Wales and Birmingham on the M50 – a stretch of around 77 miles.
Nigel, a 55-year-old father-of-two who transports cars for a living said he hates transporting electric cars as he gets home later due to having to stop to charge up the vehicles.
He showed the dashboard of the green MINI electric car he was driving, which showed that at 92 per cent charge he had 115 miles in the tank.
‘Because I have to charge the car I will be late picking up my next car and late getting home.
‘The number of charging spaces are getting better. It’s better than three years ago but there are still places where they need more.
‘When I came back from Glasgow I waited two hours to put a car on charge for 40 minutes.
‘It’s worse in the north. Wales was bad but it’s better now.’
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