Forum Topic

Lamp Post EV Power Points...

Do they work? Are they reliable? Are they expensive? Just asking before we take the plunge...

Simon Meyers ● 169d22 Comments

No, No and yes! You need to be very resilient, patient, deep pocketed, and preparedto fail a few times before finding a working model. Study Trustpilot! I gave up ages ago.

Jackie Elton ● 169d

They do work. They were reasonably priced £0.22/kwh until  a couple of months ago when FM Conway had the contract. Unfortunately Hounslow recently took a check from Shell to take them over and now at £0.58/kwh they are far more expensive than even a Tesla Supercharger. Somebody has cash in their pocket and isn’t responding electricvehicles@hounslow.gov

Taylor Wescoatt ● 168d

There have been several take-overs.  Shell has been under pressure to diversify so it should be no surprise that in this increasingly changing area they have taken over Ubitricity and Surecharge. https://www.shell.co.uk/about-us/news-and-publications/media-releases/2021-media-releases/shell-completes-acquisition-of-ubitricity.htmlhttps://ubitricity.com/en/ubitricity-surecharge-fm-conway-ev-charging-takeover/

Philippa Bond ● 168d

What is important is that all chargers are well maintained and working - so you aren't left looking for an alternative when low on charge.  Lamp post ones are slow charging which is why EV Charging Stations which have faster chargers and lots of them are going to appeal to those who use their cars a lot.  There are also faster chargers in other places including council car parks.  Zapmap.com has a lot of info and shows how charging options are growing.https://www.zapmap.com/news

Philippa Bond ● 168d

Govt has a Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund (LEVI) for EV charging which will only go so far as I understand it. Some lamppost chargers or streets were not able to take the necessary cabling.There definitely isn't space for absolutely everyone to have a car and other public or shared transport is also needed.  It is a great shame that Zipcars or similar car clubs have now gone from many areas (although not all as some Councils have kept them). Demand Responsive Transport is also an option where it exists but those who already have a car are likely if they can still drive/want to drive to lean towards buying another car.If a community is strong enough they may share knowledge amongst themselves of the options and methods of transport that they have locally and the ways to access them to where they need to go.There were some DRT trials before the pandemic.  It is  successful in other places.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demand-responsive-transport/demand-responsive-transport(Beware the huge number of pages of the above doc are unnumbered - or were when I downloaded it for a friend who used it elsewhere and wants it where she is now!  It is a report on the pre-pandemic trials.)I prefer walking and also do this to keep active - so please don't drive over them when you shouldn't and report any damaged ones.  Most of us need to use them either some or all of the time!https://fms.hounslowhighways.org/Solar is of course a good way to charge your car if you have a drive and can do that.  Solar nowadays just means daylight rather than hot sun (it can be too hot) and there are so many more solar panels actually to be seen on camper vans and vans and beach houses and ambulances etc nowadays to supply extra energy - if you look!Check out the other post on Lamp post EV charging initiated by Bruce Hammal

Philippa Bond ● 168d

So with Shell taking over the lamppost charing operations, are we in a situation in which a company with a vested interest in us switching away from petrol engines has control of the alternative?

Mark Evans ● 166d

Yes. But don’t worry, when the Greens take over they will tax Shell and other polluters out of business. Luckily we will all be so high with the legalised drugs we won’t care. Crime will end. Wars will cease and everyone will live in harmony and bliss.

Simon Hayes ● 166d

Here's some info on different EV car charging networks.https://www.whatcar.com/news/electric-car-charging-networks-rated/n23269Re:  Lamp post chargers  I understand that Wandsworth have a different company to the two I've seen in West London.

Philippa Bond ● 166d

Here is the link to the Trustpilot reviews for Shell Recharge.  https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/shellrecharge.com1.1 out of 5. That’s bad. Really bad. And that’s based on  940reviews. Then compare to the Bp fast chargers. Why did Hounslow let them take over? Source was bad enough.

Jackie Elton ● 165d

The Lamp Post EV chargers are simply not a practical alternative for many electric cars drivers - they are just too slow. Not every one has the option to leave their car to charge over night. As the number of electric cars on our roads is increasing rapidly we need a practical alternative easily installed alternative.

Sam Hearn ● 162d

There are an increasing number of alternative bollard ones in the streets as well as the the lamppost ones.  Then there are the stations that now do just fast EV charging. They are in car parks and hotel and office car parks.  If there is nowhere to park a car anyway then you won't be able to charge it.We still need Demand Responsive Transport and good and accessible low price public transport.  Train travel is very expensive in the UK.  Some Councils are allocating spaces to  shared-use Zip cars or their alternatives instead of charging them as much as they did before. We don't all need to own everything all of the time!

Philippa Bond ● 162d

Filling up with a tank of Superplus unleaded is a lot quicker and more fun once you're back on the road. Always makes me laugh seeing people siting reading the paper at the BP garage charging a car when in and out in a couple of minutes.

Mark Talbot ● 159d

I would find a pub or restaurant with EV charging, it would also bring business.

Janice Evans ● 159d

Or a garden centre with EV charging.

Janice Evans ● 159d

Zip Car accounts ceased in February 2026.Hounslow used to have parking spaces allocated to Zip Car. LBH charged nothing for this privilege.

Sam Hearn ● 159d

https://airqualitynews.com/local-government/hounslow-approves-50-diesel-parking-surcharge/Zipcar permits were at one time £200 and then apparently reduced to £100.  When were they free to Zipcar?https://southwarknews.co.uk/news/community/southwark-council-offers-zipcar-free-parking-permits-until-2027/

Philippa Bond ● 159d

There were two versions of Zipcar. With one you would book and hire a car for a set number of hours, and the car had to be returned to it’s pickup location by the end of the hire period.With the other one you booked the car up to 15 mins before you needed it, went to where your booked car was located and you could drive it to where you were going and leave it there. However not all boroughs participated in this second scheme, LBE and LBHF did, but LBH didn’t.

Andrew Jones ● 159d

I should add I don’t know if all boroughs participated in the first scheme.The rules with the second scheme as far as where you could leave the Zip car were also dependent on the borough

Andrew Jones ● 159d

Indeed, Sam, why charge a multi-nationally owned start up funded with millions in venture capital when you can simply charge the independent business owner upward of £800 per annum for parking?Not to mention the free use of multiple bays for the likes of Domino delivery bikes. Seems to me if LBH is reaping some benefit from Lime, Forest et al for using road space, surely the time has come for all users to pay their fare share.

David Lesniak ● 158d

I didn't know that about Zipcar, Andrew.Suffice to say LBH and Katherine Dunne continue to screw up cycling and ride share initiatives. Joined up thinking when it comes to building a network isn't her strong suit.

David Lesniak ● 158d

Is it 8 or 10 bicycles that take up the same space as a parked car?  I know that means neatly parked and an ordinary sized parked car and not a tank but the situation does continue evolving.

Philippa Bond ● 157d

Just an observation on taking a long walk through the back streets of Chiswick this morning - there were more EV owners charging their cars across the pavement than there were using lamppost chargers.

Francis Rowe ● 152d