“If you, the Primus can live with an electric car, what an example that could be for others”. So my journey began.
I live in the far North of Scotland, the diocese I serve is deeply rural and under populated, I drive for many miles to get to congregations and members of our church and as Primus I also travel across the length and breadth of Scotland. The thought of changing from a diesel car to an all electric one filled me with apprehension. Friends, neighbours and random strangers all had an opinion and all said it won’t work.
I read up on the complications of making the batteries, I listened to those who said I was being hoodwinked by the government and the many people who told me it would be more expensive.
Anyway I agreed to the transition when my last car reached the end of its useful life and so began my new journey.
First thing to say is the car is wonderful, quiet, comfortable and the acceleration is excellent. Once I had adjusted to the power of the car and my tummy had returned to its rightful place I began to get a bit, well anxious. I needed to know where the charging points were, how quickly they charged the car, which ones needed special cards and which worked with chip and pin. The first evening when we arrived in Caithness I plugged in using the three pin cable. “your car will be charged by 12.30pm”, this was 3.30pm! This wasn’t going to work unless I only intended to drive down to the village shop once a week.
It became very clear that I needed a home charger, something I realise is more difficult for those in built up areas than for me in the highlands. The charger was installed and suddenly I could get from home to Inverness and back, with a range of 240 miles.
I also realised that almost every small community in the far North has a public charger, often in very interesting spots I might not have spent time in otherwise. But what an opportunity for local chat, “you’re the second one of you lot we have seen this week”. But there have been moments, creeping into Lochinver with 2% left, heating off, music off, no using the accelerator. Was this a sign of a lack of chargers? No it was me being late, rushing and saying I will reach the next one, no problem… something I could do before but not now and, do you know what? I am all the better for it. The 20min break every 200 miles has been good for me, except when the chargers are alongside a fast food outlet!
I have also re discovered the joy of driving, no longer anxious about my driver’s carbon footprint, the price of diesel or the time the garage closes. I know where the chargers are, if they are working and how much they will cost. Charging at home is cheaper than diesel and because of the savings that can be made by careful driving, I am probably a bit better at it than I was.
Do I recommend the transition? Yes I do, but do your homework, find out where you can charge and if you have the right cards to use.
So the only drawback is that no one listens.
“You wont get that charged round here, too expensive to run, it will never catch on” ,,,Well this is one Highland driver who is very happy to say, I love this electric car and thank you to all of those places that have installed a charger so that I can still explore the glens and straths of Moray, Ross and Caithness.
Most Rev Dr Mark J Strange
