Is the EA $4mo membership worth it? My experience

[zvez]

THe nearest EA for me is 40 miles away. so almost no scenario where paying the monthly fee makes sense. COmbine that with the fact that in 3.5 months of ownership I've only charged once and it was on a nearby chargepoint. Only reason I did was I wanted to make sure I knew how to do it.

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[Tampamike]

Personally, I'd rather they use the budget for putting in more chargers than diverting $$$ to canopies, or trash and cleaning supplies that come with ongoing labor costs.

Walmarts nearly always have trash cans in the parking lots (by the cart racks). And nearly all stores/restaurants have them inside. I keep glass cleaner and a roll of paper towels in my frunk.

Maybe in 5-10 years when DCFC is everywhere, and we can pick and choose the ones with amenities will spending that money on them make more sense, but for now I just want the money going to more stations.

C’mon! This shouldn’t be an either/or choice. When was the last time you saw a new gas station that didn’t have all three - in abundant supply?

Guess we’ll just have to be patient until volume starts driving the market. A little competition would be nice too.

 

[TRP]

Probably a lot more than that. While they usually wouldn't need to be quite this large, this says the typical gas station canopy runs $35K-$80K.

https://www.commtank.com/services/gas-station-construction-company/

Gotcha. It would still be a nice feature. Maybe someday we'll be treated like other cars ?

 

[TRP]

THe nearest EA for me is 40 miles away. so almost no scenario where paying the monthly fee makes sense. COmbine that with the fact that in 3.5 months of ownership I've only charged once and it was on a nearby chargepoint. Only reason I did was I wanted to make sure I knew how to do it.

If you aren't traveling then I agree you have no need for this. I didn't expect to be using the MME for this much traveling either, but here I am. If you need it, it is worth the $4monthly, if not, then you can have a beer at the pub with that $4....maybe

 

[dbsb3233]

C’mon! This shouldn’t be an either/or choice. When was the last time you saw a new gas station that didn’t have all three - in abundant supply?

Guess we’ll just have to be patient until volume starts driving the market. A little competition would be nice too.

A gas station serves hundreds (thousands?) of customers every day. EA stations a few dozen, if even that.

The question then becomes "How much more per kWh are you willing to pay for those amenities?".

Personally, I have no problem parking in an uncovered Walmart parking spot to plug in, any more than I do going to actually shop there. Or walking 100 feet to a trash can. I certainly have the extra time while the car charges for 20-30 minutes.

 

[dbsb3233]

Gotcha. It would still be a nice feature. Maybe someday we'll be treated like other cars ?

EVs don't refuel like other cars though. It's an entirely different paradigm. It's more analogous to parking than gassing up.

Which means it *is* being treated like other cars. The Walmart shopper parked 20 feet away doesn't have covered parking either.

 

[TRP]

EVs don't refuel like other cars though. It's an entirely different paradigm. It's more analogous to parking than gassing up.

Which means it *is* being treated like other cars. The Walmart shopper parked 20 feet away doesn't have covered parking either.

No he's not, but, he's also going into the store. I have the option of going into the store or sitting in my car. I can go in and get food and return to the car to wait and eat.

Would it be nice to have the canopy, am I sitting here losing my mind over it. No. I'm just saying that it would be a nice feature, that's all

 

[timbop]

THe nearest EA for me is 40 miles away. so almost no scenario where paying the monthly fee makes sense. COmbine that with the fact that in 3.5 months of ownership I've only charged once and it was on a nearby chargepoint. Only reason I did was I wanted to make sure I knew how to do it.

But away from your home is precisely where DC Fast Charging is most useful. At home you can use your much cheaper AC level 2, but if you drive long distances beyond your battery's roundtrip range then cheaper DCFC is a huge benefit. If you don't drive that far, then yes it is of zero benefit.

 

[dbsb3233]

No he's not, but, he's also going into the store. I have the option of going into the store or sitting in my car. I can go in and get food and return to the car to wait and eat.

Would it be nice to have the canopy, am I sitting here losing my mind over it. No. I'm just saying that it would be a nice feature, that's all

Oh no doubt, it's a nice feature. I'm just saying that at this point with such scant usage (thus revenue), I think it's a waste of money that would far better be used to build more stations and add more chargers instead.

To use a loose analogy of a bank with both parking and a drive-thru, ICE refueling is like the drive-thru while EV charging is like the parking.

 

[TRP]

Oh no doubt, it's a nice feature. I'm just saying that at this point with such scant usage (thus revenue), I think it's a waste of money that would far better be used to build more stations and add more chargers instead.

To use a loose analogy of a bank with both parking and a drive-thru, ICE refueling is like the drive-thru while EV charging is like the parking.

The network is only going to get better. I look forward to seeing it grow

 

[Tampamike]

Oh no doubt, it's a nice feature. I'm just saying that at this point with such scant usage (thus revenue), I think it's a waste of money that would far better be used to build more stations and add more chargers instead.

To use a loose analogy of a bank with both parking and a drive-thru, ICE refueling is like the drive-thru while EV charging is like the parking.

It’s a very loose analogy. But, just like the drive through teller and the gas station island, the canopy is there to provide cover to the customer, either opening the window or stepping out of the car into the weather to pump the gas. It would be nice to have and I wish they had built them with canopies, and trash cans, and washers. I get it - doesn’t really bother you.

 

[jennq]

They might get there. Tesla SpCs were pretty unprotected in the beginning with people asking for the same things, especially a trash can and window washers. I don't think we ever got water, but trash cans and canopies and even coffee shops with lounges now exist in the newer ones.

 

[timbop]

Of course canopies, trashcans, and window cleaning supplies would be great to have. However, as @dbsb3233 said that comes at a cost which has to come from somewhere. For the time being, if they can add 10% more chargers for the cost of a canopies I'd rather that's what they did. It isn't just the cost of the canopy: zoning, inspections, engineering plans, impact studies, etc all have to be factored in. Here in NJ there were regulations on the books that put a tremendous burden on businesses that wanted to add chargers to existing parking lots. They had to go through all kinds of red tape and additional costs even just to add L2 chargers for their employees. Fortunately a new bill was signed this year that eliminated all of that as long as all a business was doing was adding chargers to an existing public parking lot. If something like a canopy is involved, then all that red tape is still in play.

Ultimately the best solution is to have canopies with solar panels, but that is even more expensive up front. Ideally all parking lots are a great place to put solar canopies, but that isn't likely to happen on a large scale.

 

[dbsb3233]

They might get there. Tesla SpCs were pretty unprotected in the beginning with people asking for the same things, especially a trash can and window washers. I don't think we ever got water, but trash cans and canopies and even coffee shops with lounges now exist in the newer ones.

Those type of things will come with volume. When the chargers start getting high volume use (i.e. revenue), the cost of extra amenities can be spread across enough customers to make it less significant.

Right now, EA volume is so low that the whole operation has to be a huge money-loser. Hopefully they'll be able to reach and cross the break-even point some years down the road (by the time the VW settlement money runs out).

 

[ChasingCoral]

My only complaint would be I feel EVs are being treated as second class citizens at these stations. There are no canopies so you are in the full sun or rain, no trash cans nearby and no windshield was buckets at any of the stations we used, even the Sheetz which is a gas station and could easily provide a trash can and windshield bucket. C'mon EA, are we not cars too?

Agreed. I’ve solved part of the problem with a bottle of RainX cleaner and a squeegee in the frunk.

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