Does Anyone Here Actually Use Fee-Based Charging Stations?

If you own a Rav EV and go past your range to return home(or garenteed charging place) you are an idiot.

 

I use a Blink charging station at Woodstock, GA near a bunch of restaurants and shops.

Maybe a couple of times a month on an errand swing, i can stop for lunch and get enough juice to get home and make it a pure EV run. And if the wife and I decide to go to dinner there, it's an EV round trip.

If my shoelace re-tipping accountant were to analyze the cost factors, it wouldn't make much sense, but there's an intrinsic sense of having bragging rights to say "I made an EV only trip."

 

No free or fee charging around here at the stores, malls, etc.. Other than at home, the only other place I can charge is at work, which they let me do. I have use of the one outside plug all day since the people there can't even spell EV much less own one.

 

i would only charge at a fee charger if the $/kwh was 50 cents or less but all the fee chargers I've seen are a lot more than that.

 

I made the mistake of putting $25 into my Chargepoint account so I could get 2 cards mailed to me. I had just gotten the PiP and was all excited about it. Before they came in the mail I went to a local Kohl's store where the manager gave me a free Chargepoint card since they had a charging station outside, and I have not used paid ones yet. I've used the Kohl's charger twice, one random location in a downtown parking lot where I was looking to kill some time since I was early to an event, and one by a Metrolink station while I was at a fast food joint closeby. I've seen Leafs/Volts/Fusions plugged in thus far during my experiences at the free ones.

 

Maybe because I do not own a plug-in or EV my perspective is different. Last time I looked there are smart phone apps that tell you when charging is complete, or near complete, and my gut tells me if you own one of the vehicles, you have a smart phone. If a vehicle is parked in a charging spot and not charging (or is done charging), what difference does it make to the next person wanting or needing a charge whether that vehicle is gas, diesel or the above mentioned.

There has to be ramifications to prevent abuse by "all parties" or hostilities or worse will continue.

 

I fail to see why an EV should have advantage or priority over a PHEV at the public charging point, or large battery over small or faster charging rate over slower, as some are saying or hinting in this and other threads.
The guy that makes it to the public charging station with the last drops of energy juice in his reservoir (or reservoirs) and charging is his only way to complete his planned trip, this guy is a careless irresponsible idiot to me, especially if he makes it a habit. The rest IMO have equal rights, first come first served.

 

Nor do I. I do however think that fees that discourage staying in place after you are all charged up are a benefit to society. The less you CAN charge, the more those fees will SEEM to be aimed at you. The OP sees that as a bad thing, I do not.

When at a gas station, if your car stays in the pumps while you shop in the store, the owner is losing business, because you are blocking pumps. Same for the owner of the charging station.

Some electric car owners do not seem to see that if t is wrong to take gas without permission, it is wrong to take electricity without permission, if it is wrong to block a gas pump, it is wrong to block a charging station. No one runs a gas station ignoring economics, no one will run a charging station ignoring economics. Thankfully, LEED rules can make 'free' charging stations more economical for some property owners, and some stores will bet you make them more in profit than you cost them in electricity.

 

Agree.
And the less you can charge the quicker is your 'turnaround' freeing the point to others.

 

The preference would be no different than giving priority to someone living further away. It shouldn't matter. If both got there using electricity, both would like to drive back the same way.

That's only if a majority of the pumps are being used at that moment. An empty gas station can serve as a deterrent. People are attracted to businesses with active patronage. The study of economics and human behavior often reveals our choices are not logical.

 

I prefer an active gas station, because I worry about stale gas. (I do not worry about stale electricity) The charging stations I see are mostly single sparking space, even one car blocks 'all' the opportunity to charge.

 

There are now 6 charging stations where I park. All alone in an area with infrequent traditional vehicle parking there made it less appealing. Recently, a Leaf joined in. 2 of us there now should help, especially since we tend to wander from spot to spot from day to day.

 

I think you meant 2.3 kW. Other plugins cars charge at a rate of at least 3 kW so PiP is the slowest charging plugin car I know of. This is presumably related to the smaller battery size and lower charge rates can also use less expensive charge controller components.

Meanwhile, the PiP also has the highest hybrid mpg. The slower charging with higher mpg means the PiP gets the worst relative deal at charging stations that charge by time rather than by kWh consumed. Unless you are getting a premium parking location or other benefits it probably isn't worth plugging in a PiP unless the hourly rate is $0.50 or less.

A Volt charges at 3.0-3.3 kW and gets worse hybrid mpg so it's break even point is around the $1 per hour. Cars like the Model S, newer LEAFs, and a few others can charge at 6 kW and actually get a reasonable deal at $1 per hour.

This nearly 3x disparity in charging rates is why ChargePoint publicly promotes and recommends that station owners charge per kWh in areas where it is legal (like California) in order to provide a fairer and more level pricing structure.

 

My apologies, I thought the PiP also was capable of the 3-3.3 kW as the a Volt.

 

That is true, but it is not always about the money and convenience ( premium spots).
I can see myself charging (hope public spots will evolve in Israel) at higher cost giving me the opportunity to move in city neighborhood with zero tailpipe pollution.

 

All of the Kohl's in SW have free Blink charging (you still need a card to activate the charger though). Easystreet has a free charging station, there is one near Clackamas Town Center (behind Target, at the Sherriff Dept.)
The Rose Garden has chargers in both garages, and it is "rock star parking". The first EV to an event gets the parking fee waived. The last time I charged there, it was also a free charge.
The Blink chargers have a 15 minute grace period, which means you can get damned near a full charge for a buck. If there's a charging station where I am, I use it, even though it's not really cheaper than gas, it does save trips to the gas station, and keeps my money local, and green.

 

I just found out Walmart has free Blink chargers too. We don't have one very close, but it's nice to have some of the miles offset when I make a trip there.

 

There are I think 8-10 charging spots in the parking ramp I park in by work. Since the PiP only takes 1.5 hours to charge, at $0.80/hour, or about $1.20 to fill up, it's not bad... gets me most of the way home... Plus, the parking is right by the skyway door, which is incredibly handy. This morning there were no EVs parked, so I thought I'd try it out... needed a Chargepoint account, so I had to move. I've signed up now, and will try it when I get my card.

I've also emailed my bus station to see if they'll let me plug into an outlet when I take the bus (which is most days). that could be free and awesome! I could go all week without any gas...

I love this car...

 

I don't like the cost per hour to charge the PiP. $1.20 to go 12 miles is $0.10 per mile, which is more expensive than paying for gasoline.

Charging at home, I pay about $0.25 per charge, which works out to $0.02 per mile assuming a 12 mile range. At current gasoline prices, I'm paying about $.04 per mile, or twice as much as electricity.

 

Yeah, I'm doing it today just for fun. I won't normally. I've got that new-car excitement yet (bought it Christmas Eve)!

I'll normally be driving 3 miles to the bus station and 3 miles home each day, plug it in at home. Unfortunately I pay about $0.12/kwh, so it'll be around $0.40 per full charge for me... but I pay extra for wind power, so it feels tree-hugger-friendly... hehehe.