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Commuters walking behind Westminster City Hall this morning could be forgiven for thinking something highly mysterious was going on, as a group of around 25 people -- some in suits and heels -- were staring at and photographing what bore an uncanny resemblance to two high-tech parking metres. These two "pieces of elegant kit", as Councillor Alan Bradley described them, were in fact two new electric vehicle charging points.
Today ten new Juice Points -- as the street charging points are nicknamed -- were officially switched on around Westminster City Council following a successful pilot scheme of two Juice Points in Covent Garden. Part of today's buzz at City Hall came from the sleek collection of the latest electric vehicles surrounding the two Juice Points, including the new TH!NK, the classic G-Wiz, a Smith electric truck and the Vectrix motorbike.
We had a chat with Bridie Gunn from Westminster City Council at the launch and she told us that 80 electric vehicle users were signed up to use the first two trial Juice Points, and with the extra ten, the council hopes to encourage around 200 users by the end of the year.
While people in theory are allowed to charge their vehicles for four hours, Gunn told us that in reality people usually only stay for two hours on average. Plus, the ten new points are set up in pairs so there's a good chance there'll be at least one free when your electric brum needs some juice.
Westminster City Council works together with Travel for London (TFL), EDF Energy and the Energy Saving Trust. Gunn assured us the council is more than happy to advise other local councils on how to go about encouraging residents and people who work in the borough to drive electric vehicles -- if they need to drive at all.
So far, the City Council has been focusing on getting charging points in car parks around Westminster -- there are 48 -- and is now working on the Juice Points in the streets. But, Gunn told us, the council will also look into battery exchange systems in the future, where electric car drivers can swap their tired battery for a fresh one and instantly drive off instead of charging for a couple of hours.
So are these Juice Points eventually going to be as common as parking metres? Gunn laughed (not so reassuring) and said she really would like them to be and with the rise in fuel prices there might be chance.
If you have ideas for where to place new Juice Points within Westminster City Council, hit up the comments below and we can put you in touch with Bridie Gunn. If you don't live, work or spend much time around Westminster, but still would like to get a Juice Point for your electric vehicle, get in touch with your local council.
Who knows? Maybe Juice Points will become as common as parking metres
From left: Omoniya Giwa from TFL, Cllr Bradley and Peter Thorn from EDF Energy switch on the new Juice Points
A NICE Mega City electric car getting some juice
Damn, the more we see of the all-electric Vectrix, the more we want to lay down £7K on one
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