No free charge while charging
Electric vehicle owners will not be able to top up their batteries for free in Maidstone’s car parks. Members recently voted to offer free parking to all e-vehicles in its car parks and on-street parking bays.
Parking services manager Jeff Kitson warned councillors that free parking would mean the council subsidising drivers to charge their cars since a single fee at the authority’s 18 electric bays covered both parking and energy costs.
The council has now clarified the situation: those using the charging bays will continue to be charged as at present.
Only those actually charging their vehicles will be allowed to park in the bays.
Concerns had also been expressed during the debate that making parking free could end up with the car parks being clogged with vehicles staying much longer.
But the council has confirmed free parking will be limited to the maximum length of stay already permitted - in shortstay car parks, that’s four hours. Although the parking for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will be free, drivers will still have to register their parking via the council’s Ringo system.
This will allow the council to monitor use and inform enforcement officers if a car exceeds the maximum permitted stay.
The scheme, which is expected to cost the council around £13,000 a year in lost revenue, is not expected to start until late in April, not the 1st as originally hoped.