Really messed up. I can see why they get pissed that the spots get ICE'd -- which is what I see regularly around LA, but PHEV's aren't allowed to use public charging stations? And in 1 hour on a level 2 charger, you get about 12 miles, the last 30 minutes are trickle and you get 2-4 more… depending on your overall range. That person is inconsiderate. I charge as often as I can .. get about 120 mpgs and only fill up my tank every 1000 miles.. so if you drive a full EV and you're reading this, please be considerate.
Guys, we need to all try to get along and show a united front if we wish to advance the cause of EV, PHEV, REEV, etc. technology. Those of us who use public chargers should be considerate of others' desire to, and sometimes serious need to, use those charging spots. BEV drivers don't have any inherent priority to the spots, but neither should a PHEV hog a spot for longer than necessary to recharge and thereby depriving someone who may need an extended charge from accessing the spot. We should all be leaving a note on the vehicle whereby someone having a true emergency or who's noticed that you're done charging can give you a call...and you should be available to move the vehicle in a timely manner as well.
Today on the way to work I stopped for lunch in Old Town Pasadena. One of the EV spots was ICEd by a regular prius. I left a kind note on the car letting them know that an EV spot does not mean hybrid, but rather a plug-in vehicle. I've noticed this phenomena as well.. hybrids parked in EV marked spaces.
^^^ Yeah, Leaf owners get especially upset by ICEd spots when they need a charge. If I had one, I would too. Totally agree about the need for charging space etiquette, in general. Whoever left the note on the OP's car was clearly rude. If I finally get the Leaf that I've been wanting or some other BEV/PHEV and charge somewhere, I'll either stay w/the car or leave a card w/contact info (probably EV Card | Plug In America or something like it).
Once EVs become more commonplace, free EV charging will go away. All kinds of governments, organizations, and marketing folks will support a novelty. Nobody is going to pay for free fuel to support a massive infrastructure once the novelty is replaced with routine. The only protocol that will be left standing is what taxi's use. Charge you for the service and also charge you for denying the service to others. (e.g. Paying for the electricity while charging and charging for the parking space if not charging.)
Having a PiPa, I used to charge whenever and where ever I could. Now that I also have a Rav 4 EV. I don't charge the PiP anywhere by at home. Too many BEVs out there that require the chargers. My PiP doesn't require it. Unless there is like a bank of 4+ stations with 2 or more open.
My angle is you shouldn't be leaving your house if you can't get back on the charge you have in your car (Pure EV). You shouldn't be "expecting" to charge at your destination, thats flat out stupidity.
Seriously? So the guy at 11 Months, 36,000 Miles In A Nissan Leaf Electric Car? No Problem, now past 70K miles in less than 2 years on his Leaf at My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Most miles on a Leaf is stupid? What about places that provide enough workplace charging? I was at dinner w/a former Leafer (+ some other folks) last night. That guy has a BMW ActiveE now. He only trickle charges (slow) at home (very high EVSE installation costs for him) and "reverse charges". He gets more juice by being parked at work as he can L2 charge there (which I believe had an 6.6 kW or greater on-board charger) and his workplace charging is free. What about the folks who charged along the way at 2013 LEAF: Bay Area Reveal - SF BayLEAFs or the Nissan rep (who I met) who quick charged at the VW Belmont QC? The QCs are CHAdeMO Association (can charge a Leaf from 0 to 80% in 30 mins). OTOH, don't know the max limits for CHAdeMO or the Leaf but from My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - My first DC Quick Charge, I see over 47 kW being delivered in one of the pics. How about folks using Supercharger | Tesla Motors w/their Model S? What about Tony Williams who drove from Mexico to Canada in his Leaf (My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Mexico to Canada via Electric Highway June 12-20, 2012) and then other Leafers helped him drive his car back the other way? What's the point of having charging infrastructure if you can't expect to be able to use them? Part of the point for the reason for their existence and usage is to extend one's range, esp. if the car is going to be idle, sitting around doing nothing anyway. That said, BEV owners should have backup plans to use other charging stations in the area/along the route, if possible/available. Certain networks are known to be notoriously unreliable (e.g. Blink) and spots are sometimes ICEd, sometimes by a-holes and other times by people who make honest mistakes.
Also, how about ELMO - Eesti elektromobiilsuse programm | ESTONIA BECOMES THE FIRST IN THE WORLD TO OPEN A NATIONWIDE EV FAST-CHARGING NETWORK, West Coast Green Highway - Electric Highways and these guys? Video: Dutch duo drives Nissan Leaf 779.2 miles in... 24 hours
. What miracles can happen when a country becomes serious. To get something done, it's simple. You just start doing it. I think the US Govt. is incapable of taking any determined, positive, direct steps to conserve energy. Oh, it will happen, but slowly and take forever. While little Estonia moves forward. Congradulations !
Buying any vehicle is about accepting the shortcomings of the vehicle since no vehicle is perfect. For BEVs, that means dealing with limited range and charging options. The BEV car owner is in the wrong for being upset at anyone charging in an EV parking spot. If owning a BEV is causing such negative feelings, perhaps he/she should not have purchased BEV. I disagree slightly that if a BEV and PHEV approach a EV parking spot at the same time, the BEV always has priority. If the BEV has sufficient range to reach its destination and the PHEV could save gas by charging, the PHEV should have priority.
Everyone has his right to pull in a vacant spot for charging. Free charging spot is base on first come first serve principle. Op said he pull in to charge when the spot ws vacant. So what's the 'leaf'(if true) owner fired at. Stupid. PiP also need to charge. Those electric veh. owner must think all the charging spots are belonging to them. No one other than elc. veh can use. Ridiculous.
If public charging confrontations are a problem now, it will only get worse. Can't imagine pulling into a charging station and having to wait in line to charge. Who likes waiting for anything? In Virginia, very few public charging stations. At least with a Prius Plug In, we're not tethered. Always best to have options.
This is perhaps the biggest obstacle to driving pure EV, charging time. People are used to pulling up to the gas pump and being done in +/- 5 minutes. And some people get upset waiting to do that.
I charge at home and I charge at work. There's no charging stations anywhere else I go and if I ever find one somewhere else, I'm using it. Quite frankly, I'm probably the only one in my town that has a plug-in car.