It’s no secret that electric vehicles are the way of the future, and Kiwi’s have been able to adopt that change fairly quickly. The Clean Car Discount has bumped new electric sales from 8% to 20% from 2021 to 2022, with expansions happening every day. ChargeNet boasts a near-300 charge point fleet. We’re looking at a major network of EV points, supporting the sudden boom of vehicle purchase. Is that something that works for the average student though?

A recent study looked at the EV infrastructure of major cities around the world by using publicly available data from OpenStreetMap or Google Maps API to define the locations and calculate the length of available roads in each city. It then sourced EV charging station data from plugshare.com, ensuring that all locations were within area boundaries.

Hamilton is the leading city for chargers relative to road length with 22.2 chargers per 1000km, based on a recent survey conducted. There’s massive contributing factors that come into play here but we’re winning at something. Wellington followed with 20.6 chargers per 1000km, then Tauranga at 13.8, and then Auckland with 13.7. All four rate higher than the best Australian city, that being Newcastle with 9.1 chargers per 1000km.

With the sudden push towards EV’s, and the constant rise of fuel prices and general living costs, what do all these figures mean for you?

The average student in Kirikiriroa earns $801 per month of the Student Allowance with no 3rd party support. With a disproportionate rental cost of $803 per month. The Government increased the student allowance and student living costs by $25 in April but is that enough to support the rising costs of living and subsequent purchase of an EV?

Looking at the average cost of an EV, it ranges anywhere between $8k (secondhand Leaf) up to $154,900 (Tesla Model S). The costs, while staggering, aren’t aimed at the student market. However, with the support and infrastructure aimed at making Hamilton a green city, we’d like to know how that supports students in the trajectory of Hamitlon’s growth.

I decided that speaking to students seemed the best option, getting an insight into whether the HCC is appropriately marketing towards the right demographic or if they’re forgotten about a major part of the city’s growth–asking the question of its relevance.

“I’ve seen how they mine Lithium–there’s a few issues I have with the process” said ag student Laurence when prompted about the significance of the big switch. “I would change if they were a little cheaper”

One of the main issues students have with electric vehicles is the cost, looking at the lack of cheaper options when faced with a choice. There’s also a level of familiarity that’s important in the process, student Blake says, “I know petrol and it’s easier to fill up”

There’s the problem there, isn’t it. There’s a lack of information surrounding the alleged charge points littered throughout our city. Not that giving them a map is the best bet, way to make the kids feel more like kids, but there’s so many disparities between what’s important (going eco) and what’s realistic (give us more money to go eco)

Here’s the biggest kicker of all, a shared frustration from most students, Kirikiriroa isn’t even a walkable city. So it’s easy to understand that we’re trying to limit the amount of cars on the road–apparently building a 10 foot wide glorified walking bridge wasn’t enough. But when asked, students are more likely to opt into public transport or catching a Lime scooter when getting from a to b.

“Pour some of that wasted money into fixing the buses–we would rather have efficient timetables than a 50k shit car” says frequent bus-catcher Lauren. Noting the inaccuracies of our Bee Bus system, the timetable rarely meets the expectation of the general public.

What’s the intended outcome for students as Hamilton reaches into its Kete one again, forking out millions into a new bridge (see Peacocke bridge) no one’s going to use? Sweet fuck all. The intent is to promote the purchase of an EV, saying goodbye to a cheap alternative in the hopes of a half-baked product at premium prices. This isn’t a local issue but has close-by repercussions.