Bestchargecard for the UK?

[jaapv]

Can any of our esteemed UK members tell me what most universal charge card to get for the UK?

 

[outofyorkshire]

Unfortunately there is no such thing over here
There are a number of national schemes and a number of regional ones :shock:

If you look here it will tell you who operates the various points :
https://www.zap-map.com/live#y=53.24/x=-1.297/z=9

If you are sticking to motorways then Ecotricity is what you need : https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/for-the-road/our-electric-highway
and their cards (and points) are currently free

Other than that , you need to check who operates most points in the area you are visiting :?

 

[jaapv]

Around Bristol. Not very hopeful, I fear. For somebody coming from a country with charge points all over the place, a bit like stepping back in time... Rapid chargers are not my thing anyway, I value my battery.

 

[maby]

Not much public charging other than rapid round here, I'm afraid. Patterns of usage just don't favour charging solutions that require you to stay in one place for several hours, I guess.

 

[outofyorkshire]

Looks like these guys are your best bet then:

http://www.sourcewest.info/

Also looks like Bristol is one of the better served areas by UK standards :lol:

 

[jcandmorag]

I've been looking into this in a bit of depth... Seems like a CYC card can be used just about anywhere, so I got one. Don't have the car yet but 40,227 minutes and counting.

GX4hs in pearl white.... mmm

 

[maby]

Looks like these guys are your best bet then:

http://www.sourcewest.info/

Also looks like Bristol is one of the better served areas by UK standards :lol:

If you are just visiting for a short time, do your sums carefully before taking that one up. The card is free for local residents, but £20 for everyone else - you need to take several full charges on simply to break even.

 

[jaapv]

I can try using my brother-in-law's address, I suppose. OTOH it may be simpler just to charge overnight at the hotel and forget about the rest.

 

[jaapv]

Not much public charging other than rapid round here, I'm afraid. Patterns of usage just don't favour charging solutions that require you to stay in one place for several hours, I guess.

Well, it often gives free parking.

 

[maby]

Not much public charging other than rapid round here, I'm afraid. Patterns of usage just don't favour charging solutions that require you to stay in one place for several hours, I guess.

Well, it often gives free parking.

Well, I guess so, but on the other hand if you overstay beyond the charging period you get moaned at by others here for hogging a bay, so you unless your proposed stay is between three and four hours, you are faced with having to come out and move it later - with the risk that there is no other convenient space. There are a few London parking garages with charging points - I'm thinking particularly of the one under Hyde Park which has lots - they always seem to be empty. It's over a mile from my office and it really is not worth the effort to have to walk back late morning to move the car, possibly finding that there are no non-charge-point spaces free...

 

[jaapv]

Hogging is not really an issue over here, there are apps that will let one find a free charging point nearby. For instance Amsterdam has 6127 public charge points, most of them double, Schiphol Airport alone 32.. Anyway, I get a few points here and there in the UK on my Dutch card (mostly London though) so I guess I'll leave it at that. Oh yes- and get a decent 13 A Schuko-Three Pin adapter

 

[tun]

If you are in London, sourcelondon is a minimum. Then you have Pod point. And ecotricity for the motorways.

Talking about hogging, those electric taxi are hogging those ecotricity charger at the heston at M4. It's like a petrol station for them full time!