FuelIncluded have organised a test drive day this Friday in Milton Keynes.
We shall have the three best-selling all-electric cars here; Nissan Leaf, Renault ZOE and the BMW i3.
Please contact us now if you would like to drive one or more of these great cars at a single, convenient location, with experts on hand to discuss and ask questions of.
At Fuel Included we’re very pleased to be members of the Entrepreneurial Spark programme.
As part of this we have office space in the Milton Keynes Hub. It was natural therefore for our first electric car event in Milton Keynes to be a display outside the Hub building.
The centrepiece was our new BMW i3 94Ah on show. It generated a lot of interest, particularly amongst those visitors who had not seen an electric car up close before.
Naturally, we have plans for organising more MK events through this year – and you’ll read about them here first.
Electric vehicle (EV) owners in Milton Keynes have become the latest to benefit from free smart chargers provided by the Electric Nation project.
Milton Keynes is part of the Go Ultra Low City Scheme and it has a high level of electric vehicle ownership, which is helping to improve local air quality. In order to ensure that local electricity grids can cope with charging increasing numbers of electric vehicles at peak times, the Electric Nation project is recruiting new EV owners and providing a free* smart charger, so it can learn from the data – and the feedback – from trial participants.
Keith McLean is one of the first Electric Nation participants in Milton Keynes to have a smart charger installed for his BMW i3. Keith says
“I’m delighted to be able to help with the Electric Nation research project, which aims to ensure that the UK’s local electricity networks can continue to charge the ever-growing numbers of electric vehicles. This 7kW smart charger is one of the latest, most intelligent on the market and can provide useful data on your charging history – as well as being able to charge an EV up to twice as fast as a 3kW home charge point. It has the most up to date functionality, with software updates being carried out remotely.”
Keith will be well known to many Milton Keynes residents as he was previously the Mayor of Milton Keynes, when he tried several electric vehicles, and was impressed with how easily they could be used in a city that at the time had over 200 public charging points.
The project is seeking to recruit 500-700 people buying or leasing new electric vehicles (of all makes and models, pure electric and plug-in hybrids) to take part in the largest trial of its kind. Trial participants will get a free* smart charger installed.
* Subject to eligibility and conditions
Read more: Electric Nation
From 1st April, and ‘only when you renew your permit’, Milton Keynes council will be increasing permit costs; but not for Ultra-Low emission Vehicles (ULEVs).
The decision was made following a public consultation on the matter that was first proposed back in December 2016. The reason for the increase is being stated as ‘unprecedented budget cuts’, with revenue from parking permits along with parking charges and parking meters being used in other areas of the highways and transport services.
The good news is that all Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (under 75g CO2 per km driven), will continue to benefit from a ‘Green Permit’ allowing Free Parking in specified areas of the city centre.
However, Low Emission Vehicles will see an increase in their ‘Green Permit’ from £0/ Free to £195 per year. Still much lower than fully fossil-fuelled cars, which will see permits costing up to £1,688 per year.
The City’s ambition to become a Go Ultra Low City is evolving. With these changes to permit costs, and the ‘EV Experience Centre’ due to open this spring, I anticipate the city will see an uptake of more electric vehicles in the city centre for regular commuters.
Milton Keynes Parking Permits can be applied for online at: Milton Keynes Council
Read about: The Milton Keynes, Electric Vehicle (EV) Experience Centre
TRO has been appointed to launch the UK’s first ever Electric Vehicle Experience Centre in partnership with Chargemaster.
Opening in Milton Keynes, the EV Experience Centre is aimed at educating consumers by demonstrating the value of electric vehicles.
TRO’s retail division is responsible for the design and production of the EV Experience Centre, which will feature a number of engaging technologies to enrich shoppers’ showroom experience.
Ben Taylor, retail director at TRO, said:
“We are thrilled to be spearheading this innovative initiative in partnership with Chargemaster. The new store reflects the automotive industry landscape and the dramatic increase of consumer interest in electric cars – plug in power models are appealing not just to dedicated environmentalists but a much more mainstream audience. The project embodies several areas of TRO’s capabilities – melding our expertise in retail, automotive and digital spheres.”
Chargemaster is responsible for the running and management of the store for its five-year duration.
The EV Experience Centre is to be delivered as part of Milton Keynes’ £9 million ‘Go Ultra Low’ Cities programme, which encourages the uptake of low emission vehicles – with a target of 23 per cent of all car sales being electric or plug-in by 2021.
Source: meetpie.com
Receiving my monthly bill from Chargemaster makes me happy. Let me explain….
Chargemaster Plc is the company that provides the majority of Milton Keynes electric car charging points and since I only charge publicly I am billed by them for all of my ‘fuel’ consumption.
Working in Central Milton Keynes, I am lucky to have a vast network of charging points available to me, I charge mostly during my working day, as and when I need to. I also benefit from free parking under the Green Permit Scheme which covers all standard bays (purple) and some premium bays (red), both can be found across the city centre area.
Last month’s bill really did highlight to me the huge cost savings owning an Electric Car has given me, and why every commuter in Central Milton Keynes should consider getting one.
Check this out…
| Petrol Car |
Electric Car |
|
| Fuel cost per day |
£3 (approx.)* |
£0.71** |
| Parking |
£18 (£2 per hr x9) |
£0 |
| Total cost per day for parking & fuel |
£21 |
£0.71 |
| Total for the period
(11 working days)
|
£231 Estimated
|
£17.20 Actual cost billed by Chargemaster PLC (inclusive of Polar subscription fee) |
| Averaged over a working year (261 days) |
£5,481 |
£408.11 |
*Based on my 15 mile round trip commute @ 20p per mile.
** Averaged daily cost from bill, includes ALL mileage not just commutable distance.
Milton Keynes is definitely an electric vehicle hub, probably the leading EV city in the UK. It has lots of charge points and they are usually at least half full.
However, although you see tons of electric cars around the place, electric vans are still unusual. It was a treat, therefore, to see a Renault Kangoo ZE van delivering to the shopping centre.
Electric Vehicle consultancy, Zero Carbon Futures, has been appointed as project manager to Milton Keynes Council to support the delivery of their Go Ultra Low City programme.
The appointment follows the announcement last year that Milton Keynes has been awarded £9 million from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ Go Ultra Low City Scheme. The funding is to support the city to become a showcase of what can be done to encourage the uptake of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles.
Following a competitive tender process, Zero Carbon Futures has been commissioned to oversee the project’s key strands including the EV Experience Centre, EV charge point infrastructure and innovation as well as work on the Highways to support the programme.
Brian Matthews, Head of Transport Innovation, at Milton Keynes Council, said:
“We had a number of exceptionally strong tender submissions for the project management contract however Zero Carbon Futures’ expertise and knowledge of the industry really stood out. The company will be a critical friend for the project throughout its five years.”
Zero Carbon Futures has been involved in a number of high profile electric vehicle projects such as the Rapid Charge Network, Plugged in Places and My Electric Avenue and has overseen the development of charge point networks across the UK including at motorway service stations. The company has also developed a number of electric vehicle marketing and promotional campaigns to encourage residents and businesses to consider making the switch to electric.
Dr Colin Herron, Managing Director at Zero Carbon Futures, said:
“Milton Keynes put forward an exceptionally strong bid to become a Go Ultra Low City and we are delighted to be working with the Council to support its delivery. This is a significant programme which will make a demonstrable difference to electric vehicle uptake in the City and we hope that our expertise will provide real added value to the Council.”
Read more: Zero Carbon Futures
Chargemaster has won the contract to set up and operate a new EV Experience Centre in Milton Keynes.
This will be the UKs first-ever shopping centre multi-brand showroom. Milton Keynes was awarded £9 million Go Ultra Low Cities funding in January 2016 to encourage the uptake of low emission vehicles and hit the target of 23 per cent of all car sales being electric or plug-in by 2021.
The project is due to launch in spring and will be situated within the city’s premier shopping centre. The ground-breaking new project will help residents understand the true potential of EV ownership.
As well as showcasing the latest EVs and exciting technology, highly trained independent professionals will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions and refer them to relevant local dealerships or partner leasing companies. As an added bonus, Milton Keynes residents and businesses will also be able to test drive a range of vehicles on a short or long-term basis.
Brian Matthews, head of Transport Innovation at Milton Keynes, said:
“Our commitment to making Milton Keynes a go-to destination and flagship Go Ultra Low city starts with our residents.
“We’re delighted to be working with Chargemaster on this project, and are confident that the team is best placed to champion the EV sector, considering their knowledge and experience of the industry.”
David Martell, Chargemaster CEO, said:
“Being part of such a high-profile and diverse project is very exciting for Chargemaster.
“The centre will be the first of its kind and we are sure it will pave the way for other cities to follow.
“We are looking forward to welcoming Milton Keynes shoppers and showing them everything that going green has to offer.”
Read more: MiltonKeynes.co.uk
Enthused by the technology and the idea of being an everyday Eco Warrior, I traded petrol for electric and became part of the EV revolution – despite not being able to charge my car at home! Yes that’s right … I charge my car publicly all the time!
The fact I don’t have an electric charge point installed at home seems to surprise a lot people I talk to about my EV (Electric Vehicle). In most cases it seems they wouldn’t even consider an EV if they couldn’t charge it up at home. I must admit if I were doing long journeys each day I think I would struggle a bit – but I’m not. My Renault Zoe is my ‘run around’ (albeit a High Tech run around). It gets me from A to B and serves exceptionally well as a city car, certainly in Milton Keynes which is a major hub for EV owners.
When deciding to go electric I found out I couldn’t have a charge point installed at my home but rather than give up on the idea I started to look into other charging options, there were plenty! And all of these options made me realise it wasn’t actually a necessity and would still be much cheaper than running a petrol car. Fifteen months on I love my Renault Zoe and I do only charge publicly; Charging has become almost second nature when parking my car – it’s simply an additional thing to do like paying for a parking ticket. In fact I do it instead of paying for a parking ticket because electric car parking is free. As a result the cost of charging is actually less than the cost of parking.
So, If you want to go electric but can’t get a charge point installed at home, don’t be deterred – do some research (and FuelIncluded.com helped with this)….
* How often are you likely going to charge your car each week? Look at the real-world mileage range of the EV you are considering against how many miles you travel each week.
* Where is your nearest charge point to Home or Work, and what are the parking and charging terms?
* Check if there are charge points in the areas you regularly visit.
* Find out where your nearest Free charge points are – The Holy Grail!!
* Where are your closest ‘Rapid’ Charge points – these can be a bit more pricey but always great to use as a fall back if you need a full charge fairly quickly.
What’s important is you make charging your EV fit around your lifestyle, rather than make it a chore. Once you familiarize yourself with the Electric Charging Network available to you, public charging can actually work in your favour and you may be surprised to learn of additional perks and cost savings in doing so.