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Operator's view
Page 18
Page 19
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WI In return for the muchreduced rental on the Think car during the trial period, the companies and organisations involved in the Think (about London trials have agreed to provide periodic feedback on how the vehicles are used, ways in which they help solve urban transport problems, and their performance.
Nothing has yet been published, so CM has asked the participants for their first reactions.
John Kavaliaufkas is direstor of catering company Organic Xpress which specialises in servicing environmentally conscious organisations where, he says, "you need to be seen to be doing what you're preaching. We provide good food but organic and as much as possible fair-traded, and we recycle all packaging and bottles."
The Think certainly falls in with his firm's image, but does it earn its keep? "I've told them that they're not getting it back, that I'll chain myself naked to the door handle," says Kavaliaufkas. "It's that good! When you turn up people comment on the electric car. It's created a bit of a sensation. The looks we get driving around are incredible. I've had people speak to me at traffic lights— they know its something special. Electricity really gets people...they really like that 'swishy' sound.
"It's as easy to drive as a dodgem car its nippy—parking is so easy. And with Westminster Council it's free parking; the wardens know about it." Like the other participants Organic Xpress wasn't picked at random. "We filled out quite a lot of forms," he reports. "Our reasons were scrutinised."
The only minor problem Kavaliaufkas has encountered is with condensation that sometimes forms in the car: "We're not sure if it's from the battery—it may just be heat from the motor—but that's probably also the case with a normal can" Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, agrees that the ThInk car is nippy: "Before, when you thought of electric vehicles, you thought of milk floats. When you're negotiating Hyde Park Corner you need a bit of perk and this gets from 0SOmph in approximately seven seconds. I've been chased around Hyde Park Corner by a motorcyclist who asked where we got it from."
The foundation has been using its ThInk predominantly around central London, but also lets RAC Motoring Services take it out to schools in the regions. "So we're using It quite a lot," says King. "There's no doubt that for central London it's a very convenient, quiet, safe, clean way to get around, and with free parking from Westminster council you can save a fortune. That's one of the greatest benefits."
King has also noticed that the government is regularly using a ThInk: "I've seen one nipping in and out of Downing Street, delivering documents."
Driving around semi-pedestrianised areas. King warns that you need to be alert as it can get "quite surreal": "You have to be aware that someone could stop in front of the vehicle because they can't hear it. But if more cars were more silent, that would be environmentally more pleasant."
For the long-term, he says, better infrastructure will be needed; he suggests that charging points could be put on parking meters. But King has no doubt that once the practicalities are sorted out, these vehicles are going to take off: "It would be more practical to have a range of 100 miles so you could get to, say, Reading and back. But you have to start somewhere."