Free public battery charging scheme

[morphix]

Hi all,

This poll is to gage support among the forum community for a project which is in the planning stages for establishing a nationwide network of charging point businesses where ebike owners can recharge their batteries free of charge.

We would like to know whether you would find such a scheme useful?

 

[BrianSmithers]

Leaving a £200 (or more) battery laying around for 4 hours or so while I go away somewhere peddling an unpowered e-bike? - hard to see how that will work. The electricity is cheap enough I suppose, but how would it be funded if you included the ability to lock that battery away safely?

- Brian

 

[John Chandler]

For those of us who like to travel long distances... wonderful

 

[hopper_rider]

Leaving a £200 (or more) battery laying around for 4 hours or so while I go away somewhere peddling an unpowered e-bike? - hard to see how that will work. The electricity is cheap enough I suppose, but how would it be funded if you included the ability to lock that battery away safely?

- Brian

Its hard to know how useful it would be without knowing how extensive it might be. Battery security is an obvious issue. If the points were attatched to obvious rest/watering holes it might be more useful in that people could stop to recharge themselves and recharge the bike at the same time.

I watched a youtube vid about a similar idea being used in relation to electric cars in the states.

 

[earwig]

The idea sounds good but, like with cars needs fast chargers, which don't exist. What do you do for 2 or 3 hours while it is charging?

 

[Kinninvie]

Charging points at pubs
Job sorted.

 

[morphix]

The idea sounds good but, like with cars needs fast chargers, which don't exist. What do you do for 2 or 3 hours while it is charging?

'Top-up charging'... never let yourself run completely dry ;-)

For those who have, find your nearest library/cybercafe CP and loose yourself in a book or go online/watch a movie

 

[Fatgadget]

10 odd years down the line ?!
There used to be a charging station by the Canal @ Camden Road overground station. Loong gone.

 

[chris_n]

There is a free public charge point near me, I've only seen it get used once. Many of the Alms (summer farms with food / beer) also provide charge points with Bosch chargers or 240v outlets so you can use your own for other makes. These get a lot of use.

 

[saneagle]

Happy memories. I guess Funky Lynn and Morphix are no longer with us. Lynn got cancer and I think Morphix had health issues too. It was a great effort which I supported financially and in other ways, but I think it was fundamentally flawed. If you're going to carry a charger with you, you might as well carry a spare battery, then you don't need a charger. Also, without standardised and regulated chargers, anything could happen. Then there's the security issues. You'd need to charge for hours to get any worthwhile charge in your battery, during which time somebody might help themselves to a spare charger for their bike or sell it on Ebay.

Actually, a lot of the charging points were in ebike-friendly pubs and restaurants, but can you see them allowing it now with all the battery burning hysteria?