ICEd at SeaTac Airport

I went to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport today. The SeaTac parking garage, level 5, has some electric car parking spots with 120v plugs-- free electric with the normal $4 an hour charge for parking in the airport garage. No, it's not Level 2 charging, but it's nice to see. I was going to be at the airport for nearly 2 hours waiting for people to clear customs from Paris, so I thought I'd plug-in and get some electrons.

I'd guess that there are about 36 parking spots total, which is not nearly enough, but still pretty cool-- especially since there is no charge beyond the normal parking fee. I saw some Leafs, Teslas, BMWs, and a few Volts. In fact, a couple parking a Volt said HI and took a quick look at my Prime (the Prime is just beginning to show up in WA, so it's somewhat rare.)

Of the about 36 spots, 3 were taken by ICE cars-- a Subaru, Suburban, and a Tacoma, so I had to park in a regular spot. No biggie-- I have a Prius Prime-- hooray for gas backup. This was my second time parking in the SeaTac Airport parking garage and the first time I was ICEd out. It's clear that the infrastructure in this area (admittedly progressive) is not up to handling an influx of purely electric cars. I was happy to have the gas backup. The next Tesla will likely do OK at 200 miles range without charging, but the older Leafs could run out of electrons with 70-something miles.

I called the airport police and reported the violations and the ICE cars were to be ticketed.

We've got a long way to go to switch to all-electric driving, but the Prime is an impressive step in that direction. I've enjoyed driving my Prime (just 7 weeks and one fill up so far). The price point of the Prime and the gas backup make it a great option for today-- especially when being ICEd out. Good thing I didn't really require those electrons to get home. Oh, and plenty of room for the luggage too, despite the space taken by the battery.

The next dilemma is the SeaTac EMPLOYEE parking lot-- it will have 12 parking spots soon. How should I handle that? I am usually away for 3 to 6 days-- Should I plug in? I really only need the space for 5 hours? What do you think? What is an appropriate way to use the plug, but not hog the space for 3 days?

 

You're right, BobWilson, this should be a Valet feature-- I doubt the SeaTac Employee Lot would support Valet-- Just think of the liability.

For the Employee Lot-- Parking adjacent would be a great idea if that's an option. Again, I appreciate the addition of the charging spots-- but just 12 for all of SeaTac's employees-- All the TSA, airport staff (SeaTac administration, maintenance, police, fire), and the airline employees? There are hundreds (thousands?) of us. The employee lot is enormous-- with many Leafs, PIPs, etc. I need to remember that baby steps are progress.

The electric charging spots tend to be "better spots than average" likely to minimize the cost of the electric wires and conduit. That makes them more enticing to the general public.

In the regular garage-- I just learned there are some additional spots on another level, but they are, for whatever reason, more expensive. (It might be "rock star" parking) I can see Valet for electrics being a possibility in the regular garage some day.

 

I did not walk by on the way out-- I had to park a floor above and totally at the other end of the parking garage.

And thanks for the discussion. Those of us here are looking for best behavior.