The EV crumbling has begun. General Motors and Honda have pulled back their EV programs and cut drastically the number of such vehicles they are projecting to sell in the next few years. Toyota, which has been vocal since the beginning about the efficacy of EVs vs hybrids, are putting their force behind the Prius and hybrids.
It seems the initial group of EV enthusiasts, those who bought EVs for personal reasons (technology, save the planet, simply to show their neighbors that they are “with it”) have bought their cars. The rest of us are simply going along doing our thing and buying what we want, not what we are told to want.
Back in the day of the introduction of HCs (horseless carriages), no one had to pass laws telling us not to sell or buy horses. We put a horse next to a Ford Model T and the Model T took the day. The marketplace filled with gasoline stations, stables became garages, and the paradigm shift took place. In less than two decades, cars flooded the streets and horses were retired to live out their lives in suburbia. No one forced anyone, no one had to have huge influx of government dollars to be sure there were enough pumps to fill the cars’ tanks. It just happened. The marketplace did its job.
Corporations like GM, Ford, Honda and Toyota simply aren’t prepared to lose billions of dollars a year because the government tells them to do so. Their stockholders won’t stand for it. Because it doesn’t make sense.
The common man is not an idiot. He/she knows that the EV is not the end all to reducing greenhouse gases. Wind farms and solar panels don’t create enough energy to replace power stations. The making of an EV is a very messy business, and the environmental mess simply cannot be ignored. The purchasing public knows this.
Why buy a car that requires at best 30 minutes to fill its fuel tank 80 percent full when you can zip in and out of a gas station in less than 10 minutes and get a full tank? And remember, that’s with a Level 3 charger, one that runs on the highest voltage and one that can cost between $50K and yes, a $Million (look it up) to install. Most of the chargers being installed are Level 2 and put that charging time well into hours.
When your industry is dependent on an unlimited amount of government money, competition goes away. No one is motivated to provide a better mousetrap, simply to get those chargers in the ground and move on. Oil companies were required to provide an infrastructure that ran from the well head to the gas pump. And they did.
Pumps work. If they break, they are fixed instantly. Fuel is delivered to the pumps as required. If the government stays out of the way, there is no problem. However, what is the motivation of the charger companies to be sure there is an infrastructure to keep the chargers working, or to be sure that there is enough electricity to fuel the chargers? As long as there is an infinite amount of government money and no real competition, there is none.
The latest survey shows that upwards of 25 percent of the public chargers are offline at any one time. The EV driver’s frustration level is growing exponentially.
If there was no government money involved, the EV fuel suppliers would have to charge the true cost of supplying the electricity, the true cost of the installing and maintaining the chargers, and the true cost of the electricity. Folks would find that charging their EV cost about the same as filling up their ICE vehicle, and was more inconvenient.
What do ‘our betters’ think? Do they think that if there is a charger on every street corner we will all rush out and buy EVs? It looks like the market for EVs is cooling. An ICE vehicle isn’t a horse. Placing it beside an EV isn’t the same as putting a Ford next to a four-legged critter in 1900. The benefits of one over the other just aren’t there. Or at least, they aren’t obvious.
The holidays are over but reading Parknews.biz at the time, I saw Astrid had story after story noting that many cities have made the same mistake they make every year. Free Parking has taken over. Do they understand just why paid parking was instituted in the first place? It wasn’t to generate revenue; it was to create more parking spaces.
Just what is going to prevent employees from parking in those free spaces and take up space meant for customers? I’m sure everyone in the city government will feel good about ‘giving’ parking to the citizenry, but how will those parkers feel as they circle blocks looking for spaces that were taken by local employees?
When will they ever learn?
I spent an hour with Doug Cram at the California Parking and Transportation meet last fall in San Jose. I sort of knew what Doug was doing at Veterans in Parking, but it turns out I was a bit off course. What Doug has is a labor of love. He won’t get rich; he won’t have something to sell and retire. He has a program to help veterans leaving the service find jobs in the parking industry.
I think about the vets who serve, those who don’t return, and those who, like Doug, actually do something rather than put up a flag one day a year.
After listening to his story, I was embarrassed that we weren’t doing more. Yes, he thanked me for our help, but what we do is minimal.
He had tears in his eyes as he told the story of Veterans in Parking and how it’s funded, how much work it takes to get a single vet hired, and how little the military does on their end to help those who exit the service.
His problem isn’t lack of trying. He says that the officers who are supposed to help when a vet’s time is up, hear ‘parking’ and think ‘no, I need a real job for these men and women.’ He says he spends as much time doing PR for the industry as he does seeking out openings and listing them on his website. (www.vetsinparking.com.)
These are people who have been taught how to work, how to think clearly, how to show up on time and be responsible. And, Doug says, they are ‘mission oriented.’ Give them a goal, they know how to get there.
Doug is basically a one-man band. If you have ‘webmaster’ skills contact him. He needs the help. If you are good at PR, or outreach, or simply want to help, this kind man would love to talk. Reach out via admin@vetsinparking.com.
Make this veteran’s day more than just a salve for your conscience. Actually, DO something for veterans. Doug has the infrastructure, give him a hand.
