Hitchin named UK's first town to install 'pioneering' electronic car … – Herts Live

Kerbo Charge will save one Hitchin resident £1,506 per year and significantly reduce the hassle of car charging
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Hitchin has been named the UK’s first town to install a Kerbo Charge electronic vehicle charging site, making the town a pioneer in the world of electric vehicle charging. The announcement was made this week (Tuesday, January 17) as a Hitchin resident became Customer One for the new technology that allows drivers without off-street parking to safely and cheaply charge their cars at home.
Kerbo Charge is set to save the resident £1,506 per year and significantly reduce the hassle of charging her car. Prior to when the installation took place on January 10, the female resident had to drive up to two miles to a nearby charge point every time she needed to power up her car.
The Hitchin resident now has a wall-mounted charger and a specially-designed polymer channel with a self-closing lid in the pathway outside her house. She lays a cable into the channel, closes the lid and starts charging her car via an app.
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Kerbo Charge was launched via the influential Fully Charged Show, with presenter Jack Scarlett describing it as "so beautifully simple I wish I’d thought of it myself". This led the innovative technology company to be inundated with requests from people across the UK desperate to sign up but Herts town Hitchin was chosen as the first site.
Kerbo Charge Co-Founder Michael Goulden is thrilled with the interest from Herts residents in particular who make up 15 per cent of his entire national enquiries. He said: "The reception from electric vehicle drivers has been phenomenal across the UK, but we’ve been particularly impressed by the interest from drivers in Hertfordshire who represented a whopping 15% of all national enquiries.
"40% of the UK population don’t have off-street parking and the top two reasons given for not buying an electric car are the inability to safely charge at home and the cost of public charging. Kerbo Charge is here to change that."
Kerbo Charge is currently available to any resident living on a private road, with the start-up partnering with local councils to roll out to homes adjoining public pavements later in the year. The first council to come on-board is Milton Keynes, as they will be launching a trial in February next month.
Welwyn Garden City resident Saviour Mathew called on Hertfordshire County Council to make it possible for all residents to utilise Kerbo Charging, even if they do not live on private roads.
He said: "I’m desperate to get Kerbo Charge as it’s costing me so much to charge my car and I hate having to drive to a public charging point. I’m calling on Hertfordshire County Council to let all of us who don’t live on private roads take advantage of it as soon as possible!"
Residents of private roads can sign up straight away at Kerbo Charge, with prices starting at £1,149. Drivers not living on private roads can register their interest on the website to get priority access when the scheme becomes available in their area. For more information, visit the Kerbo Charge website here.
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