In defence of a universal, mass × distance road user charge
Distance-based road user charging could replace fuel excise but it has to be implemented properly, and fairly. Chris Jones, AEVA President, explores the issues.
Distance-based road user charging could replace fuel excise but it has to be implemented properly, and fairly. Chris Jones, AEVA President, explores the issues.
Some describe PHEVs as “the best of both worlds” because they can run on electricity for short local trips and on fuel for highway trips. Others describe PHEVs as “the worst of both worlds” – a polluting engine with its higher maintenance costs, and a battery that is too small to save much fuel on long trips. Are PHEVs failing to deliver for their owners?
A challenge of owning a vehicle that was only brought into Australia in low volume is access to after market parts. Sometimes, you have to get creative. Due to limited availability of wheel and tyre options for the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, owner and AEVA member Jamie Lovick needed to get creative.
At the AEVA ACT meeting on 18 October 2021, a panel discussed their experiences with five plug-in hybrids: A Hyundai Ioniq PHEV, a Holden Volt, a Mitsubishi Outlander, a BMW 330e and a Prius Prime.