Porsche driver dealt double blow after parking in EV charging station
An electric vehicle owner was furious at a Porsche driver who parked their vehicle in a designated charging space. Their fiery response highlights the ongoing tussle for parking spaces across Australia’s major cities, as facilities are set aside to accommodate EVs.
The Porsche was vandalised on the quiet leafy streets of Sydney’s Bellevue Hill, with someone illegally scrawling red ink on a tinted window, accusing the driver of being a repeat offender. “This is the second time you are parking in this spot,” they wrote.
In a second blow to the Porsche driver, a Waverley Council parking officer was seen dropping a ticket underneath the windscreen wiper, fining them $129 on Monday morning.
Finding car spaces a problem on Sydney’s busy streets
While Bellevue Hill was declared the nation’s most expensive in 2024, the long and windy street where the fine was issued is dominated by cheaper one and two-bedroom apartments. Most properties don’t have parking spaces or access to charging stations, which means the two available EV only spaces are a lifeline for many.
But petrol vehicle drivers are also feeling the squeeze caused by a lack of available parking, with dozens of spots regularly filled by tradesmen and visitors wanting an all day spot that’s close to Bondi Beach. Dedicating two of these precious parking spaces to charging EVs is understood to have ruffled some drivers of other vehicles.
Australia failing to deliver enough EV charging stations
Over 87,200 EVs were sold in the 12 months to January, but access to charging stations remains a frustration for many drivers. Earlier in April, dozens of Teslas were photographed queueing for access to charging stations over the Easter long weekend.
On Friday, Yahoo reported that despite federal government plans to grow the country’s EV network drastically by 2030, there are only 3,000 public charging stations nationwide, totalling 7,000 individual plugs.
NSW is home to around 2,100 charging stations, according to an estimate by the state’s transport authority. “The NSW Electric Vehicle Strategy sets targets to increased EV charging capabilities rather than parking bay numbers,” Transport for NSW told Yahoo News.
The transition from petrol vehicles to EVs is essential to reducing global emissions and slowing the devastating impact of climate change. In 2022, global emissions from cars grew by 1.4 percent year-on-year to 3.53 billion metric tons.
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