Blink membership plans & fees (Warning : new RPA required)

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greenleaf

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
519
Location
SF Bay Area
Blink Plus
L2 charging as low as $1 per hour
$30 annual fee

Blink Basic
L2 charging as low as $1.50 per hour
No annual fee

Blink Guest
L2 charging as low as $2 per hour
No annual fee

https://www.blinknetwork.com/membership.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Edit: Added WARNING that the new residential participation agreement (RPA) is required if you sign up for membership. The new residential agreement is discussed here

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=6744" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Also, for the Blink Plus, they're waiving the first years' fee.

They don't say how much the DC quick chargers are going to be.

But it does confirm that they will be charging based on a 'per hour' basis, not a 'per kwh' basis.
 
Too expensive (or as same as gasoline). I will sign up for basic with no annual fee, but only use it if I have to. Plus its going to be a long time before you see these chargers at any convenient places.
 
I just signed up for Blink plus, and the email they sent me is below...Looks like the price has gone down even more! :) My bold and underline emphasis added...

Hi Randy,
Welcome to the Blink Family. As a Blink Plus member, you'll gain access to the full Blink Network. That includes use of any charger nationwide - at a rate of only $1.00/charge.

Up-to-the-minute intelligence on your latest EV charges, savings, and your CO2 output is always available on your mobile phone and on the web. You'll also get a map to the closest Blink charging stations and updates on when new chargers are installed in areas you visit.

Soon we'll be bringing even more value to your membership with exclusive Blink Rewards.

We're glad you're with us!
 
greenleaf said:
Blink Plus
L2 charging as low as $1 per hour
$30 annual fee

Blink Basic
L2 charging as low as $1.50 per hour
No annual fee

Blink Guest
L2 charging as low as $2 per hour
No annual fee

https://www.blinknetwork.com/membership.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What good does it do to advertise "as low as"? It means nothing. If I'm going to pony up a membership fee, I want either "no more than" or a clear percentage off of the Guest or Basic fees.
 
evoasis.com will have DC chargers up in Del Mar, Encinitas, and San Juan Capistrano by January. I'm told that it will cost $6-7 for 20KWH (~35 cents/KWH) which would be great but what I am not sure is whether this requires monthly membership.
 
What does "as low as" mean? At some level of quantity discount? If so...the figures are misleading, and if not, why say "as low as"? I guess it could mean "unless the site owner wants to charge more".

$1/hr is a wash with our Civic Hybrid at $3.30/gallon (worse, if you factor in the $30) - we got an EV in part so it would be less expensive to operate, not ranging from just as expensive to twice as expensive. I can't see using this service except in an emergency, and I don't intend to get myself into emergency situations with the EV if I can help it.

No indications about situations where the site owner might want to fully subsidize the cost...perhaps they don't want to talk about that possibility, since presumably it wouldn't require a linked Blink card.
 
So many questions and so few answers from ECOtality / Blink.

They aren't planning to charge $ for the (charge) until Spring of 2013.
it's not clear if the first years annual fee waiver is for 2012 or 2013.

CS received an email notification of this Blink email but no training as to how it works.
At least that's what my CS contact explained. I'm sure in a few days they will have a few more answers for our questions.

I can't wait for the first charge interruption reboot, starting another billing event at the public EVSE's.
They haven't worked out all the bugs with their current Units and now they want to charge us actual money for usage? (2013)

Must be using the Groupon business plan model.
 
The email I got said that fees will start Spring 2012. Seems a bit high and does not differentiate on 3.3 or 6.6 Kw charging, but, for emergencies, I'll get plus for the first year. Now if there were any actual chargers in the Sacramento area it would be great. Ikea in West Sac is on the list to get chargers.
 
Blink got to be kidding.
I would ever only charge in an emergency.
The Nissan Leaf is a slow charger anyways.
Where I live there are enough alternative chargers from other companies.
They will fall on their chin and a lot of businesses that they talked into putting up chargers and 'making a fortune'.

Now if they offer L3 QC charging - that would be a different story.
A lot of people want to make money off electric cars but don't understand the concept
Happens every 10 years or so.
 
$1 per charge might be useful, especially at places where you might charge for seveal hours.

However $2 per hour ($16 per full charge) is like $8/gallon gas in my Prius (50 mpg).

So, will ChargePoint follow?
 
I see lots of complaining about prices here, but in reality - are you really going to plug in unless you really need it anyway at any price unless it's cheaper than charging at home?

Frankly, if I need the charge, I'll just be happy that there's a EVSE there and available to be used!

At $1.50 / hour that is about $0.40 / kWh, but with gas at $3.75 / gallon, that's comparable to fueling a typical gas car. For the occasional top-off when you need to get where you need to go, you'd probably pay a lot more, and it's likely your average cost to charge will have hardly budged!

Just signed up for the Blink Plus membership (which is free right now!). Tip for people who already have Blink accounts: Log in first, then go to the Membership tab to sign up instead of using the other link.

garygid said:
So, will ChargePoint follow?
You can guarantee that ChargePoint will follow once their network is built out...
 
I signed up for a Blink Plus membership simply because they waive the first year fee. I'll cancel that after the first year if I don't see chargers being installed in the California Central Valley.

I've paid $10 per charge or 2-charge day to a few RV parks. So, $1 per hour and a $30 annual fee will be reasonable if the chargers start showing up. Of course, the RV parks let me use their facilities as part of the $10 fee. That's included swimming, spa, TV/lounge, etc.

Bottom line -- I'm willing to help support Blink financially if they are willing to support charging in the Valley.
 
drees said:
Frankly, if I need the charge, I'll just be happy that there's a EVSE there and available to be used!

At $1.50 / hour that is about $0.40 / kWh, but with gas at $3.75 / gallon, that's comparable to fueling a typical gas car. For the occasional top-off when you need to get where you need to go, you'd probably pay a lot more, and it's likely your average cost to charge will have hardly budged!
I agree. Sure at these prices public L2 can't compete with home charging, but for me neither can free public charging compete with home charging. I won't drive somewhere I don't want to be in order to save 35 cents on an hour's charge. I'll charge if it's convenient where I want to be, and if I might need the extra range, and an extra dollar isn't going to change that.

The good thing that may come from paying for charging is that spaces may not be blocked by cars that have finished charging or by ICE cars. Nor are PHEV cars likely to occupy paid public charging stations if they can buy driving range quicker and more cheaply at the gas station.

With the first year's fee waived, signing up for Blink Plus was a no-brainer. If by the first year I have to pay for membership Blink have developed plenty of stations in convenient locations, and a fair number of Quick Charge stations, then I'll gladly pay for the next year. If they have the same paltry number of L2 and no QC, then I'll drop my membership with no regret.
 
This is good news. The more chargers the better. $1 hr is not bad. Wish we had 6 or 10kw chargers in our cars though. That would make this a great deal.
 
There is no way that I'm paying more to drive an EV than to drive an ICE.

I think Blink's prices are high and the model could be better (per kWh). So I specifically decided not to pick a plan with Blink so I can let them know in the way that will get the most attention. After all, it worked with Netflix.

Blink's email did have a link for feedback and I told them as much that way too.
 
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