Words About Things

Are electric vans a viable alternative to the traditional white transit? Electric vans have been used to deliver milk for years but are they up to the job of proper commercial vans yet and how ecologically friendly are electric vehicles anyway? Electric vans offer a clear financial benefit over their diesel guzzling counterparts but so far have lacked the range and power needed by the average white-van-man.

The Modec Van was launched in 2007 and is a certified ZEV or Zero Emissions Vehicle. It claims to offer 15p per mile running costs and will be exempt from congestion charges and road tax.

Most electric vehicles can cover around 100 miles per charge which means that their uses are limited until the technology improves. Small scale delivery is not a problem but longer journeys are out of the question. A 50mph speed limit on the Modec Van makes it ideal in inner cities but not suitable for motorway travel. Most van rental companies would expect their customers to cover more than 100 miles.

Electric vehicles may be emission free but creating the electricity isn’t exactly eco-friendly. Most of our electricity comes from burned natural resources which are finite. There are plenty of emissions related to electricity production so whilst the vehicles may be eco friendly but the electricity is not.

The recession may technically be over but there are a lot of people still struggling to make ends meet (or make ends meat as I used to think the saying went). The rise in unemployment has lead to an increase of people trading as a man-with-a-van according to classifieds website VivaStreet.co.uk.

For those overseas who may not have heard of the MWAV the premise is very simple: you pay the man to help you to transport stuff in his trusty white van. It’s like van rental but without the need to do any driving yourself. All you really need to set yourself up as a MWAV is a van, preferably a white one with ‘clean me’ written in the dirt on the back. Those of us who know people who own a van are lucky enough to be able to get this service for free or in exchange for some beer or egg custard tarts.

A man with a van can sometimes be better value than normal van hire depending on your needs. A word of warning however: it is not acceptable to hire a man with a van to go and fetch you some fish & chips, apparently.

Most people’s television screens are about as big as the cinema in my hometown these days. Gone are the days when you had to sit with your nose pressed against the glass for transformers to fill your entire field of vision. Some people even have televisions so big that they have to stand outside their living room and watch them through the doorway.

Now you can go away for the weekend without leaving your flatscreen behind. A company called Hama from Germany are selling a modified Volkswagen Mini Van which come complete with a 42 inch flatscreen TV, a Nintendo Wii and a PS3. The Van, which also features a television in the boot, is for sale for 100,000 Euros. If you can’t afford that you could alsways buy a used van and stick your old TV in the back.