MaaS | Vehicle to Grid UK

Here’s a recording of the recent, virtual Shared Transport Conference organised by
Collaborative Mobility UK, which is timed to start with the keynote speech by Trudy Harrison, the current Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport responsible for the decarbonisation of transport:

Trudy says a number of things of great interest to those of us that think that owning a car really should be a thing of the past for most residents of the United Kingdom. Take for example this from near the beginning:

We certainly need more voices such as [CoMoUK’s] so that we can design a transport system that is fit for the future and free of fossil fuels, which moves us away from the 20th century thinking centred around private vehicle ownership and towards greater flexibility, with personal choice and low carbon shared transport.
I think actually that the future is much closer than we may think. When you look at the progress that has been made in just a year, we’ve launched the Transport Decarbonisation plan, our Net Zero Strategy and of course we’ve hosted COP 26. And we’re trialling Future Transport Zones across the country, unleashing British innovation and transforming inner city journeys.

Fast forward to 5:05 and Trudy points out that:

According to Warwick Business School 78% of 18-24 year olds use a shared economy service, from Zipcar to Liftshare and Airbnb. These services are high convenience, and they can help people to manage the cost of travel flexibly, and in fact it’s becoming a lifestyle choice so transport must keep pace.

The Department for Transport’s “Decarbonising Transport” plan, published earlier this year, goes into much greater detail. For example the “Shared Mobility” section states that:

Shared mobility services can decarbonise and decongest our transport network, offer an alternative to traditional mass transit, and provide new forms of transport for the first and last mile connecting to public transport…

And outlines the following long list of “Commitments”:

We will take action to increase average road vehicle occupancy by 2030
We will publish guidance for local authorities on support for shared car ownership and shared occupancy schemes and services
We will support car clubs to go fully zero emission
We will consult on a Mobility as a Service Code of Practice
We will use national e-scooter trials to understand their environmental impact, safety, and mode shift potential to evaluate whether they should be legalised
We will reduce the barriers to data sharing across the transport sector
We have launched a new annual statistical release and guidance about transport’s impact on the environment and support its use by third parties
We will explore the introduction of a new sustainable travel reward scheme supported by businesses, community organisations and charities
We will support transport providers to develop communications campaigns that encourage mode-switch and sustainable transport behaviours
We will encourage and support UK businesses to lead the way in taking action to reduce emissions from their employees’ travel journeys through “Commute Zero”
We will identify specific opportunities for decarbonisation through innovation in rural areas in the upcoming Future of Transport: Rural Strategy
We will help build a skilled workforce for the future of transport

We at V2G UK cannot wait to see those commitments being put into practice. Especially the final two! As Trudy puts it at 9:00:

This is quite personal to me. These benefits should not be exclusive to city dwellers… I feel really strongly that this needs to be inclusive, and I also know that for many people in rural areas a car is a lifeline.

We think the answer to the question posed in our title for today is YES! Here’s one reason:

This is exactly what we have been waiting for. A 40 kWh #eNV200! Can we road test the 1st one in the UK please?! https://t.co/npMCtAkK8D pic.twitter.com/1WD48MVRIc

— V2G Limited (@V2gUK) September 16, 2017

Nissan recently announced the new 2018 edition of their popular LEAF saloon, with increased range over the previous model thanks to a 40 kWh battery pack. Over the weekend a “leak” revealed that a 40 kWh version of Nissan’s e-NV200 van is on the way. That will provide a big increase in range over the e-NV200’s current 24 kWh battery pack, and make the “van” a much more realistic choice for a wide variety of small businesses. Note also that there is an MPV/taxi version of the e-NV200 known as the “Combi”, which I have taken a ride in over the North Sea in the Netherlands:

That means we’re really talking about an electric vehicle club, not a mere “car” club. That’s one way of implementing the concept known as “Mobility as a Service” (or MaaS for short).

Here’s another very good reason to try and put more electric vehicles on the streets of Camelford:

Earlier this year Camelford was declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA for short). According to the Town Council web site:

Cllr Claire Hewlett… said “I’m very pleased that Camelford has now been declared an air quality management area, as it means that Cornwall Council and Defra have offically acknowledged we have an air quality problem. The Clean Air Group have been working closely with Cornwall Council’s environmental protection team to get this far. Talking to people in town today, everyone is excited that something might actually happen.”

As part of the consultation, the council asked for residents and businesses to convey their ideas for improving air quality, and some of these will be investigated as part of a range of options before the final plan is published.

Now electric vehicles improve air quality in town and city centres by reducing nitrogen oxide emissions and particulates from exhaust pipes and brake dust, so here’s our idea.

Apart from improving air quality an electric vehicle club in Camelford would also reduce the number of cars sitting unused in garages and car parks for much of the time. One car club vehicle can result in 10-20 private cars being taken off the road. If you don’t possess a car you’re more likely to indulge in healthier alternatives such as walking or cycling for short journeys. In rural areas with poor public transport car clubs allow people who could never afford a car of their own to make occasional longer trips they would otherwise be unable to, except perhaps by taxi. For more on the benefits of car clubs see:

Obviously a few extra EVs in and around Camelford won’t initially result in a vast improvement in air quality if lots of diesel engines keep running whilst queueing along the A39, but you have to start somewhere! The same principle applies to charging infrastructure. Camelford has the advantage of already possessing a rapid charging point in the Churchfields car park, but additional lower power EV charging points would need to be installed. If that could be achieved then a 100% electric car club would allow people to experiment with driving an electric vehicle at very little cost, and thereby discover the many benefits of EVs for themselves. Assuming that hurdle can be overcome we’d like to perform a consultation of our own.

Please take our short survey and let us know your opinion about which sort of vehicle should be the first one to be made available to Camelford residents:

[yop_poll id=”1″]

Here are those options in more detail:

smart fortwo: