Day 36 - Bless me Esso for I have sinned! It's been six weeks since I last bought petrol!

Well, it has been six weeks since I last went to a petrol station to buy petrol for my car. And I can't say that I miss it. Although, I have been to many a petrol station during that time, to pick up some nibbles or a newspaper or something else. This brings me to an interesting question - what will happen to all the petrol stations? Well, right now nothing, as there are more than enough petrol powered cars out there to keep them in plenty of profit. But eventually we will reach at least a 50/50 divide on petrol and electricity, and then things will start to get dicey, in particular for some of the smaller stations. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the smaller stations. The staff are usually friendlier, the service is usually better and they are more often than not run by local members of the community.

But if the future is electric, then the needs to power hungry motorists are going to change - from get me in get me out to I need somewhere to have a coffee while my car charges! This is where the motorway service stations have an advantage. The whole point of the motorway stations is to give motorists something to do for a little while - to take a break from the extended excursion. And if they are waiting for their car to charge up, then why not grab a bite to eat, or a coffee and read a newspaper, catchup with email, or just sit a relax for thirty minutes. This is exactly what EV motorists will need. And the rollout of spanky new service stations along Ireland's motorways could not be happening at a more advantageous time for the burgeoning EV revolution.

I recently visited the Applengreen service station on the M6 while heading to Athlone. I had a bite to eat (with plenty of options to choose from) and found myself thinking, this would be an ideal spot to charge up my car (had I driven it!) So I asked to speak with the on duty manager. I mentioned to him that I was a recent EV customer and that I would love to take my car to Athlone and use his facilities again, and would there be any chance that they would consider putting down a FCP (fast charge point) on their grounds. The manager pointed to a spot near where we had parked and said, "that's where the charger is going to be. They are preparing the foundations for it now!" FANTASTIC! Here is a company that is thinking ahead. With more and more of these service stations coming on stream and with managers thinking in this manner, it is only a matter of time before a viable national charging infrastructure will allow me to go the length and breath of this crazy little country of ours!