How about, instead of popping from one charging station to the next trying to find an open parking space with a charger available to plug in your EV, you can book a space right now from your smartphone and enjoy peace of mind. This is precisely what a new breed of parking apps like “Your Parking Space” is offering, alleviating EV owners from an unnecessary extra hurdle.
The app, which also has a website with full functionality, is very simple to use. All that you have to do is to pick the location where you want to park, the date, and whether or not you’re interested in getting hourly or monthly deals. Then use the interactive map to pick the parking space, add your vehicle plate number, pay with a card or PayPal, and go on with your life.
This “on-demand” parking reservation system may seem like a far-fetched approach to some, but those who own an electric vehicle in the UK know that it’s not. In fact, the number of EVs is growing quickly, and the days when you could visit any charging station and select your preferable plug are long gone. The “Your Parking Space” platform lists 250 parking spaces that are suitable for charging your EV, so it’s clear that the number is finite.
EV sales in the UK have grown by 165% this year, even if the pandemic has slowed down that sector too. Until September 2020, there were 164,100 purely electric cars in the UK and over 373,600 plug-in hybrids. By 2030, it is estimated that 11 million EVs will be moving around British roads.
Many of these cars will be charging at home overnight, but a respectable number will be away from their base, as cars are made for traveling of course. Not securing an overnight charge is catastrophic for EV owners, as it basically means being “stranded” in that location for way longer than planned.
