Leeside to lead charge on e-cars?

Cork City Council is examining the possibility of rolling out new e-charging points for electric cars on Leeside.

City Hall has said it will engage with ESB in relation to its plans for Cork, with a programme of new charge facilities and upgrades to current facilities planned across the country.

At a Cork City Council meeting last week, Fianna Fáil Cllr Mary Shields said there were not enough e-charging points in the city.

“People are disappointed that there are only nine e-charging points in the city itself, and not enough fast charging facilities. Local motorists are increasingly being encouraged to use electric cars into the future. This is especially relevant to public services like taxis, who need fast charge facilities.”

Cllr Shields said she was glad to hear the Council was engaging with ESB to bring more charging points Leeside, but asked whether the charging points installed by the Council at its facilities in Black Ash Park and Ride Paul Street and North Main Street were fast charging points.

“Taxis haven’t time to be waiting around for an hour for the car to charge,” she said.

Council Director of Roads and Transportation Gerry O’Beirne responded saying the e-charging points installed by the Council were not fast charging facilities, as they were situated in car parks where people were expected to stay a number of hours.

Mr O’Beirne said ESB ecars would be rolling out a programme of new charge facilities and would also be upgrading some of its existing facilities. He said the Council would engage with ESB on its programme to see what could be done in relation to more fast charge facilities in Cork.

He added that there was also some interest from private companies in rolling out networks of e-charging points: “As the number of people using e-cars grows, it is expected that more and more interest will come on board.”

Meanwhile, Labour local election candidate Peter Horgan said this week that e-scooters can play a significant role in reducing traffic commuting in Cork city and can be used for inter-campus travel at third level and in industry.

He said: “The opportunity is there for Cork to join a host of European cities that have embraced this new form of short hop transport. This isn’t a fad for tech junkies, it is a legitimate form of alternative transport that can link in with the public transport network and enhance it. This is worth pursuing.”