Hotel Chocolat

I took the photo because of the couple sitting here. It’s from inside Hotel Chocolat. It is a cafe and shop in the Grand Arcade in Cambridge. It’s one of 126 stores that the company has. I mentioned to the woman who served me coffee that I had read about Hotel Chocolat leaving. She doubted it because the Cambridge store was the most successful branch.

In fact I mixed it up with another business (Chocolat Chocolat). I had read it was closing its doors and leaving the Grand Arcade. In fact it has already left. The owner blamed rent, rates, parking costs, and the congestion charges that Cambridge was proposing charging visitors.

The congestion charge proposal was abandoned. But Cambridge roads are congested and no one has a good plan to alleviate the problem.

It is two problems really,

One problem is congestion. The other is the public health hazard of pollutants from petrol and diesel cars. More electric cars will help the pollution problem. But there won’t be a lot of electric cars on the road until there are also enough charging points.

Another solution is ‘park and ride’ car parks on the edge of town. There are several around Cambridge and a bus service from the park and ride parks into town.

London has ULEZ. The ‘Ultra Low Emission Zone’ now covers most of London. If a vehicle doesn’t meet the ULEZ emissions standards there’s a £12.50 daily charge to drive within the zone. ULEZ regulations have cut pollutant emissions significantly.

Sooner or later there will be modular batteries. You will pull up at a charging station, take out your module and put it in the slot. That will allow you to take a freshly charged module. And away you drive. I hear they are doing that in China. It’s got to be the way because batteries take so long to charge. No one wants to sit and wait at least half an hour for the process to finish..

To see the photo bigger, click on it.