Charging station access cards

[DesertDenizen]

Good day all. I went to a charging station for the first time, (beyond my Blink at the house of course.) I had a long talk with the tech who installed my Blink, and I have perused several sites that purport to show existing charging stations, (none oft which are complete), and nowhere was there any indication that one needed an access card to use a charging station. I made it home with about 8 miles left, so that was a close one. They said it would take a week to get the card.

 

[Stanton]

It would help if you included location in your Profile; obviously charging infrastructure is heavily city dependent. The two cards/types of chargers that are currently available are:
1) Blink
2) ChargePoint

I have used both types; it took me awhile to get my Blink card (I'm glad I started the process well before I got my Leaf).

 

[TEG]

By the way, Blink cards don't work at ChargePoints even though they both have an RFID symbol.

Home blinks don't require an access card, only public ones (of which there are very few so far.)

 

[91040]

Good day all. I went to a charging station for the first time, (beyond my Blink at the house of course.) I had a long talk with the tech who installed my Blink, and I have perused several sites that purport to show existing charging stations, (none oft which are complete), and nowhere was there any indication that one needed an access card to use a charging station. I made it home with about 8 miles left, so that was a close one. They said it would take a week to get the card.

Forum members have reported that the ChargePoint docks have a phone number you can call to activate the unit.

 

[TEG]

Forum members have reported that the ChargePoint docks have a phone number you can call to activate the unit.

Yes, but I have also heard cases where they were unable to activate them remotely like that.
Best to get a card if you plan to use them.

 

[DesertDenizen]

We have 8 Blink no charge charging stations here in Tucson, that I know about. I called and they said it would take about a week to get my access card. There are two Blinks in the University of Arizona covered parking garage, which is great when attending an event there.

 

[jcesare]

Good day all. I went to a charging station for the first time, (beyond my Blink at the house of course.) I had a long talk with the tech who installed my Blink, and I have perused several sites that purport to show existing charging stations, (none oft which are complete), and nowhere was there any indication that one needed an access card to use a charging station. I made it home with about 8 miles left, so that was a close one. They said it would take a week to get the card.

One of the reasons I use the PlugShare app is that it allows users to post comments and reviews immediately, without moderation. If I find a station that requires a card or has operating hours other than 24/7, I update the database.
http://www.plugshare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Packet]

One of the reasons I use the PlugShare app is that it allows users to post comments and reviews immediately, without moderation. If I find a station that requires a card or has operating hours other than 24/7, I update the database.
http://www.plugshare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used to use PlugShare, but found (at least here in Washington state) that Recargo had a better and more actively-maintained database. I can't speak for the comparison anywhere else, though.

 

[DesertDenizen]

When I attempted to activate the Blink card I received I got a message "Card does not appear ready for activation." I called and they said they would send another card, which I never received. I called again yesterday and they said my original card is activated, it is just an erroneous error message being displayed at the website. So at the first chance I get I will try again.