jlsoaz
Well-known member
[note, I'm putting this in the main owners forum because it is only a bit about "EVSE equipment" and more about broader public charging issues that I have run into.]
I have recently been using public charging more often in Tucson. Around here the networks are mostly Blink, a little bit of Chargepoint, and now GOe3 with direct credit card billing. I'm more or less ok with GOe3's billing structure on CHAdeMO, and have been grateful over the years that a couple of key Blink L2s have worked reliably for me, but recently I have been through a couple of $10+ L2 sessions that I could have done without because I couldn't break away from work and Blink can't seem to re-work its billing structure to stop billing once the battery is charged.
Also, I have run into (not the first time) the issue with parking garages and lots where many of them (particularly city-owned?) will not consider allowing a person simply to plug in at L1, even for a fee. [There was one key exception to this, a private lot near the airport that has thus won my business, and a few others drivers' business.]
All of this leads me to question: isn't public charging in some ways more complicated and expensive than it needs to be? Can we get to the point where we can take a look at what the hurdles are to allowing folks to plug in and charge at lower fees, and perhaps reduce the cost of establishing the places to plug in? I'm just guessing that some of these problems can be solved by breaking them down a bit further and identifying some possible solutions.
I have recently been using public charging more often in Tucson. Around here the networks are mostly Blink, a little bit of Chargepoint, and now GOe3 with direct credit card billing. I'm more or less ok with GOe3's billing structure on CHAdeMO, and have been grateful over the years that a couple of key Blink L2s have worked reliably for me, but recently I have been through a couple of $10+ L2 sessions that I could have done without because I couldn't break away from work and Blink can't seem to re-work its billing structure to stop billing once the battery is charged.
Also, I have run into (not the first time) the issue with parking garages and lots where many of them (particularly city-owned?) will not consider allowing a person simply to plug in at L1, even for a fee. [There was one key exception to this, a private lot near the airport that has thus won my business, and a few others drivers' business.]
All of this leads me to question: isn't public charging in some ways more complicated and expensive than it needs to be? Can we get to the point where we can take a look at what the hurdles are to allowing folks to plug in and charge at lower fees, and perhaps reduce the cost of establishing the places to plug in? I'm just guessing that some of these problems can be solved by breaking them down a bit further and identifying some possible solutions.