On test recently was a Nissan Townstar Electric – more on that vehicle in the next edition. I covered a few miles in the Nissan and while the national rapid charging network is progressing at pace these days and far more user friendly than it was a couple of years ago, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Two years ago I ranted about charge points that required the downloading of an app and upfront payment before doing anything as helpful as delivering electricity. Despite the advances that companies such as Gridserve, Instavolt and Shell Re-Charge have made in providing charging at the tap of a credit or debit card, apps requiring upfront payment before charging are still here.

That wouldn’t be so bad if they then worked, but pre-payment does not guarantee that, as I found out again last week. On the one hand, I can’t see a future for pre-payment, not least because the number of pay and charge alternatives are growing and that is what most EV drivers want, in my experience. On the other, fleets can benefit from fuel card-type payments for charging for their drivers, which are available from companies well established in fuel payment card systems. Given the flexibility of payment for charging, with software able to distinguish between home and business charging, tap and go payments and fuel card payments are not mutually exclusive. We just don’t need apps and pre-payments as prominent features of the charging network.