Sustainable transport service unsustainable

Bernard Bromell is pulling the plug on his One Hundred Percent Electric Company (OHPEC) and its Tesla taxi service in Auckland.

He will close the operation on February 14, planning to sell some of his six Tesla cars under a buy-back scheme, keep one and sell another privately.

Bromell says he’ll also have to sell his Auckland home and intends moving to Ohakune where he may start a bed and breakfast or another venture.

OHPEC was established in Auckland in October, with Bromell wanting to do something to combat climate change by providing a sustainable transport service.

He blames problems around charging and a lack of support for the business’s demise.

The Teslas were using free charging stations around Auckland until a non-commercial use policy was introduced, Bromell says.

He says using the free chargers was more a stop-gap measure until Tesla Superchargers arrived in Auckland, but there are delays in getting them.

Another option was to have his own destination chargers, but Bromell says he couldn’t get any places to put them in.

Various agencies could have been more supportive, Bromell says.

Publicity, including a story in EVtalk’s December magazine, encouraged patronage. But customer numbers declined just before Christmas and haven’t picked up since, Bromell says.

He says customer feedback was generally “awesome” with many appreciating his attempt to make a difference.

He had hoped to expand his Tesla fleet to prepare for driverless passenger transport.

Bromell remains concerned for the future, saying “we have to take massive action on climate change immediately”.