Tag Archives: electric vehicle

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Slow travel, and the Brightside roadside diner

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I was asked today if I would go back to a petrol car? My instant reply was ‘no’. Of course, if circumstances changed I might have to, but it is not in my plan right now.

The reason the question was asked was that I was describing a trip I’d just done. Instead of three and a half hours, it had taken four and a half hours due to charging the car en route. It sounded frustrating but it wasn’t. I’d taken along work to do, and discovered the InstaVolt charger was available when I got to the pre-chosen charging spot. InstaVolt, by the way, has a simple tap and untap method of payment. After way too many stressed out sessions at charging points needing mysterious apps I’ve decided InstaVolt is the way forward.

Anyway, back to that trip’s charging session. The InstaVolt charger I used was one of a pair positioned at the end of a carpark on the edge of the A303 near Honiton. At the other end of the carpark was the Brightside Diner. It was my second stop at the diner, and it still felt cheery and clean so while my car hummed away outside I had a pot of tea, and some delicious pancakes with blueberries, yoghurt, granola and maple syrup. In the end I stayed for just under an hour, thankful that rather than being in the draughty, neon-lit, soulless belly of a service station I was able to sit in a warm, quiet space and watch the morning sun fall in folds across the autumn flecked fields of Devon.

That for me is the bright side of travel with an EV. If I hadn’t needed a charging point, I would have been in and out of a service station, hands full of petrol, head full of fumes, clutching a coffee to go.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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A year living with an electric vehicle

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It was a taxi driver who convinced us. Aware of every penny, he assured us that his electric car had saved him many pennies, especially in London.

No congestion charge. And slow roads mean longer battery life.

Over the next few weeks we pondered the options, but when the price of petrol took off like a helium balloon, we jumped. The search didn’t take long. All we wanted was a car like the taxi driver’s, and there were still a few available.

The silence and the acceleration were the first big adjustments, then the control hub, with its central dial and switches. Once we had those mastered, we had to work out how to charge the car. Short day trips were easy. We’d just plug it in at night, and in the morning it would be ready. The longer trips were more challenging.

That first winter many of the longer journeys took us to charging points in strange carparks. At night most had shadows so deep it was impossible to read the phone numbers that held us hostage until someone answered. When they did, hope flashed, and usually managed to sustain us through the next half hour of trying to work out how that particular car charger operated.

No. We don’t have your app. Yes. We shall download your app. No. It won’t take our password. Yes. The car is plugged in. No. Nothing is happening. Yes. We’ll unplug it. No. It’s still not charging. Yes. The light is flashing. No. Yes. No. Oh … hurray! Thank you! Thank you!

That was the best bit, especially if it was followed by the discovery of a cafe or pub to take care of us while the car charged.

Now, a year later, we’re feeling more confident. Even range is not such a problem. Banks of chargers are blossoming everywhere, often under service station striplights which make it easier, but blander. At least it might mean progress from the air’s point of view.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023