Shell, who are getting cosily tucked up in bed with Waitrose, have announced they are kitting 100 Waitrose shops out with Shell Recharge stations, capable of charging electric cars and bikes.
Shell, who’s role in perpetuating global warming could be argued until the cows come home, are obviously trying to do their bit to make a mends for 100 years’ worth of sucking fossil fuels out of the ground. And fair play to them. If it’s going to make EV motorcycle usage that bit more feasible, then I’m all for it. Because one day, we might all have to take the plunge.
That said, I’m not about to start shopping at Waitrose; I’m neither posh nor rich enough. And whilst I half-understand Shell’s rationale, that only people that shop in Waitrose are wealthy enough to drive electric vehicles, I’d be surprised if they actually are driving them. Whenever I’ve driven past a Waitrose carpark, or driven through one to get to the McDonalds ‘drive thru’, they’ve all been in great big, gas-guzzling Chelsea Chariots. Not an EV in sight.
The first installations are apparently going to be erm… installed… early next year, so if you see some diggers faffing around on your way to get a Big Mac, you know what’s going on. The 800 chargers will increase Shell’s number of chargers by eight times. And they’ve no plans to stop there. They’ve set themselves a goal of installing a total of 5,000 charge points on forecourts and other locations by 2025. They’d best get cracking then.
Have you got an electric bike? Or an electric car? If so, would you shop at Waitrose so you could charge it up? Or would you carry on getting your weekly Asda delivery, instead? I don’t have an electric bike, but if I did, I know what the answer to that question would be.
