Poor charging infrastructure

[BruceT]

but there still seems to be as many tesla chargers as general ev chargers. are these new units?

yes, went in about 3 months ago, there's actually a youtube video about it, I'll see if I can find it. yes I think there is 12 of each. these Gridserve ones are all 350Kw units I think too.

 

[BruceT]

but there still seems to be as many tesla chargers as general ev chargers. are these new units?

6 months ago

 

[marcopolomt]

yes, went in about 3 months ago, there's actually a youtube video about it, I'll see if I can find it. yes I think there is 12 of each. these Gridserve ones are all 350Kw units I think too.

Thats great. need this as a minimum for now at every service station. Ideally plenty of alternatives just off a motorway junction just in case. Heading south on the m6 for example. Tesla have superchargers at keele services but if you miss them or they are full you can jump off at junction 15 and charge at Trentham about a mile or so down the road. Not many options for non-teslas that can be relied upon on a similar route. holiday inn bp pulse is currently closed and only has the one charger anyway. bp pulse near stoke city fc currently not working.

 

[midician]

So what do most people do when charging their vehicles on the highway ? Is there human recharging infrastructure with those EV chargers eg Cafe, Restaurant or other entertainment ?

 

[marcopolomt]

So what do most people do when charging their vehicles on the highway ? Is there human recharging infrastructure with those EV chargers eg Cafe, Restaurant or other entertainment ?

The ones at motorway service stations have lots of amenities. mainstream fast food places, newsagents, arcades, toilets, etc

Some locations away from 'highways' are a little more isolated but there is usually something nearby. eg local to me I have a pair at a petrol station, but there are lots of shops very close by. I have another in a restaurant car park, a supermarket, and another at a hotel. The only one locally without any amenities is at a football club.

 

[BruceT]

So what do most people do when charging their vehicles on the highway ? Is there human recharging infrastructure with those EV chargers eg Cafe, Restaurant or other entertainment ?

While most people use Zapmap for charger planning, as do I, it does the job very well. if you have a look at 'a better route planner' A Better Routeplanner which doesn't yet do quite such a good at charging points, it shows all the nearby amenities and how far they are, even down to meters away.

 

[TassiedEVil]

This is why I opted for the PHEV - in Australia the charging infrastructure is even worse - so much so that the commonest charging points along the major highways is caravan parks, motels and some petrol stations. I could just imagine trying to drive to Melbourne for Christmas (800km+), and having to extend the 9 hour drive another hour or more just to find and queue up for a charger!

A recent review by an actuarist reported that NONE of the major highway projects in Australia in 2020 had even budgeted for EV charting stations.

The lack of a spare tyre is another bugbear for us when the distance between towns can be over 100km , but that is for another post !

Couldn’t agree more however I think things are improving. That said, I’m still wary of any longer journey due to lack of reliable, available, accessible chargers here in Tasmania. Some words of advice - Keep Annoying your elected representatives!