I tried using a public charger yesterday and my experience was dreadful, again. I live in Spain and the model used here is simply put idiotic. I couldn’t come up with a worse one if I tried. This post is part rant, part warning, part call to action.
So quickly, what happened yesterday: I stopped at a nearby charger, according to the app it supports authentication using RFID card. I scanned my card but got authorization error. Ok, I opened the app, found the charger in it, got an error in the app and wasn’t even able to select it. Fuck it, I drove to another charger from another network nearby. There was another car parked charging using slow plug but the fast plug was free. There are two parking spots assigned to the charger. I parked, authenticated in the app and… the CCS cable could only reach to occupied parking spot. My spot was out of reach. There were no other chargers nearby.
As you can see the model in Spain is basically “only private companies install chargers and they dictate how you charge”. The service they offer can be as shitty as they like, they are not making money selling electricity. They are mainly subsidized and get money for installing chargers. No one cares if the chargers work or not. The market extremely fragmented, the apps suck, there are constant technical issues.
I currently have 10 (10!!!) charging apps on my phone: Zunder, Electromaps, Ionity, Endesa, Wenea, Iberdrola, Tesla, Acciona, Chargemap and Repsol. Those are all the networks I actually had to use one or more times to drive somewhere. That’s 10 apps that have my personal and credit card data not to mention information about my travels they can sell to advertisers.
There is an EU regulation requiring chargers to accept card payment using a terminal but only along main EU highways.
But wait, it gets worse. There are two “aggregators”, apps that let you authenticate at chargers from different networks using a RFID card. Yes, “aggregators” in plural. There’s electromaps and chargemap covering different networks. The RFID card costs money so you have to pay twice just to get started but now both apps went down the road of enshifitifcation and started offering subscriptions. If you don’t pay you will get ads in the app.
It really looks like the system is designed to make you miserable. Wasted time, no privacy, constant technical issues, obstacles on every step.
So, if the system in your country is better (which it has to be) congrats to you and please share how it works.
If your country is still building their network and they are going in the same direction as Spain start fighting it now.
If you have the same system as Spain it’s time to start complaining and asking for changes:
- single provider must be introduced allowing access to entire infrastructure
- direct payment with card must be available on every fast charging station
- requirement on availability should be placed on any subventions given to private companies
I think that’s the bare minimum. If you agree let’s start organizing and contacting people in charge (no pun intended).
It’s for sure similar in the US, though it feels like it’s getting better. Almost all the fast chargers I’ve stopped at have card readers now (though whether they work is a different issue). Chargers in my area also seem to be more reliable than in the past, and I have always been able to find one close to my preferred routes (I always route plan for trips to be sure, but only once have I needed to go some route I wouldn’t have normally taken).
My big complaint is that fast chargers get installed in the dumbest places. I don’t want to sit in a grocery store parking lot for 20 minutes, I’d much rather have a bathroom I can actually use. Again this seems to be getting better, but it’s still not great.
It was so great with Tesla, they really got it right. Too bad I had to abandon my car because I don’t want to be in the “Nazi bar”.
I’m in the USA and have four charging apps. I think you can pay via card at some chargers but I’ve never tried, I only pay with the apps. I use the apps because I review my route beforehand and verify the chargers were used recently, as there are a few dead chargers or chargers that aren’t actually accessible 24/7. I also use the apps because the charger screens/buttons are sometimes fried from being in the sun all day, and my phone is the only way to interface. Then there is the problem of ICE vehicles blocking access, but that seems to be a less common problem as time goes on.
The system sounds a bit better than what you’re experiencing, but I don’t really like it. My main complaint is the chargers are all unattended. It’s not like a gas pump where there’s an employee who can at least put an out-of-order sign on it or perhaps get it working again. If it breaks down there’s no one to ask for help and methheads sometimes steal the charging cable. This creates a situation where I’m not 100% certain I can charge at a location until I get there, which I think is the root of my complaint.
Totally agree. Uncertainty us always there. If a pump at a gas station breaks down they stop making money so they will try to fix it ASAP. Chargers can be out of service so weeks. Some chargers have live reporting, other do not. I think a base network of charging stations with multiple chargers, live reporting and attendants should be guaranteed if governments want people to switch to EVs.
Current charging stations are bad in many different ways. Half of the chargers I’ve seen are in the middle of nowhere. Literally: no bathroom, no store/restaurant, no building nearby. It’s not just that there’s nothing to do, it’s simply not safe. Some gas stations in Spain have chargers now but very often it’s just one charger. If it’s down you just have to keep driving.
