Meet Joao, a former carpenter who decided to become a professional driver after years in construction. Proud father of two sons and three grandsons, he enjoys having more flexible hours and has been driving professionally in London since 2015. 

Joao is a 5-star rated Bolt driver and recently switched to a fully electric vehicle. We met Joao in West London on a sunny afternoon (yes, this is possible) to learn more about the driving scene in London and his experience driving a fully electric car. 

What made Joao switch to a fully electric car

Joao says: “There’re a few reasons: it’s better for the environment, that’s undeniable, but there is also a real financial advantage – I can make more money when driving inside the congestion charge zone. This is just more profitable.”

Joao was previously driving a four-year-old car when he realised he could switch to a brand new electric vehicle for the same amount of money. “I am good with money and always keep an eye on the books. I spent the same amount of money with the new electric car that I was spending with my four-year-old car. So taking into consideration the costs for gas, congestion charge, and attractive opportunities from car manufacturers, all in all, it was very attractive to switch to a brand new car for the same costs.” 

Advantage of owning a fully electric car

Joao also shared that driving electric has a couple of advantages on the road, especially in London. “When driving all day, you need a really good car, but you also need a fast car when you need to move away from difficult situations on the road. It’s way easier to make a manoeuvre with an electric car.” 

If, like many drivers, you worry about charging, Joao shared with us a couple of tips: 

• Charge your battery up to 80%. Don’t charge it to its maximum. According to EV manufacturers, this would potentially degrade your battery over time;
• Anticipate your mileage for the day and charge accordingly; 
• If you’re keeping an eye on your battery, you will never run out! 

Find more information about charging in this blog article. 

The cost of driving an EV

Last but not least, we asked what he likes the most when driving a fully electric car in London. “What do I like the most? The costs! It’s very good and advantageous at the moment.”

When asking if one thing could be improved, Joao warned us that if you often drive long distances such as trips to airports, it just requires some organisation with the charging. To make sure you’re never running out, many applications such as ZapMap or Pod Point App can help you localise the nearest charging points on your way to the airport. 

If you want to learn more about electric vehicles, check out our blog post.