"But, I couldn't get it to charge"

[MellowJohnny]

Lots of restaurant / shopping L2 are in prime parking spots because it's cheaper to run power close to the building vs. trenching and running a very expensive cable way out to the back of the lot.

Either way DCFC and L2 will normally be located closest to wherever the power source is.

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[Mach1E]

Lots of restaurant / shopping L2 are in prime parking spots because it's cheaper to run power close to the building vs. trenching and running a very expensive cable way out to the back of the lot.

Either way DCFC and L2 will normally be located closest to wherever the power source is.

Wow, I’m kinda surprised that never occurred to me (the cost of installation).

I kinda always assumed it was a way of rewarding EV drivers, but your explanation makes waaaay more sense.

 

[thekat03]

Wow, I’m kinda surprised that never occurred to me (the cost of installation).

I kinda always assumed it was a way of rewarding EV drivers, but your explanation makes waaaay more sense.

I like the stores that put ev parking near the building, like over on a side wall, but not near the front door. It's still probably an easier/cheaper run to install, the building provides a bit of shade and wind protection, and it's inconvenient enough to not ICE it.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I like the stores that put ev parking near the building, like over on a side wall, but not near the front door. It's still probably an easier/cheaper run to install, the building provides a bit of shade and wind protection, and it's inconvenient enough to not ICE it.

The Walmart L2 chargers in Kona are like that. It’s a very popular store so those spots are iced more often than they’re charging. ?‍

 

[DevSecOps]

It’s not about being special, it’s about incentivizing behavior. HOV lanes is a good example. They tried to incentivize a behavior and it worked, only problem is it caused a negative externality. I’m not sure what the negative externality of making designated EV charging spaces without chargers would be. There may be one, I just cant think of one. Also, buying an EV is a much smaller commitment than getting pregnant. The use case I’m thinking about is a large parking garage, not a Walmart parking lot. Parking on the first floor vs. the 5th floor saves 10 minutes on a commute. That’s enough to change some behavior.

First of all you can't have an EV charging parking spot without an EV charger. That doesn't make any sense. I realize that you said it that way because it would sound like we're entitled snobs otherwise, and that goes against your argument. Your parking garage example is only giving people preferential treatment because they could afford an expensive vehicle and it's not incentivizing anything other than laziness.

HOV lane access is a good example of how it didn't work as intended. I've never met a single person who decided to buy an EV solely for the purpose of HOV lane access. It's preferential treatment to those who can afford an EV. There's many environmental groups in California who are against EVs in HOV lanes because it incentivizes people NOT to carpool, which in turn increases vehicles on the road/traffic. Carbon emissions go up due to increased stop and go traffic which is far worse than traveling between 35-65mph. Thankfully, California is phasing out that program in 2025.

 

[DevSecOps]

Either way DCFC and L2 will normally be located closest to wherever the power source is.

Wow, I’m kinda surprised that never occurred to me (the cost of installation).

Mellow's comment is correct but having charge units close to the building is typically only for L2 supplied by that company. Newer DCFC units don't piggyback off of commercial buildings, they actually pull from the closest utility drop or underground power source. This is typically along the roadway. You'll notice that most DCFC stations back up to the corridor. Some of the older stations are located up front, but thankfully most of the newer ones are further away and closer to the road.

 

[david_quick]

Let me start a thread with some chum.

Today I'm doing my thing, running errands and I come across something that just drives me up a wall. So, I come across a MachE in a EVgo stall, not charging, not even plugged in. They just happened to be in the grocery store. Mind you, this is one of those parking stalls at the very front of the store, so it's bound to be abused. Without knowing who these people were I just so happened to be behind the owners in the checkout line and passed right by them when going to my truck.

I exclaimed "You're not supposed to park in that spot if you're not charging!"

The response back from the owner was "But, I couldn't get it to charge".

A few more words were exchanged and we went on our way.

My question for the community:

So there's 3 possible scenarios here; the charger is completely out of order, the owners are lying, or the charger didn't want to initiate a session for whatever reason (i.e. bad payment method). Do you think any of those scenarios warrant parking in a spot clearly designated for "charging only"?

Personally, I don't think any scenario warrants parking in that spot while not charging. I don't think a tow truck driver would care if it was out of order or your transaction didn't go through. The sign is clearly written.

Will "I couldn't get it to charge" be the new excuse for anyone who wants to park in these spots?

I. Would not be surprised in the future if the chargers grow a camera that records your license plate and through an agreement and in cooperation with local government they charge you a hefty parking fee.

 

[TheBraydenKyle]

There is a broken (for over 6 months now) EVgo station at the mall I frequent. Even though it’s not working, I can’t mentally make myself park there. I just go about 10-15 spaces further down and park every time.

I do fully believe that the folks who plan where to build these things should ALWAYS put them toward the back of the parking lot because you’re right, they get abused frequently. Both iced and ev’d or whatever new term we’ve come up with.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I'm not falling for that!

Or the banana in your tailpipe? Wait... ??

 

[HuntingPudel]

There is a broken (for over 6 months now) EVgo station at the mall I frequent. Even though it’s not working, I can’t mentally make myself park there. I just go about 10-15 spaces further down and park every time.

I do fully believe that the folks who plan where to build these things should ALWAYS put them toward the back of the parking lot because you’re right, they get abused frequently. Both iced and ev’d or whatever new term we’ve come up with.

Heh, there4 is a raft of broken ChargePoint DCFC stations at a mall near my home. They've been broken since shortly after I bought my 2014 Fusion Energi. I still won't park in the spots where the busted chargers are. I do park on the other side of the aisle from them though. ??

 

[axelheimer24]

First of all you can't have an EV charging parking spot without an EV charger. That doesn't make any sense. I realize that you said it that way because it would sound like we're entitled snobs otherwise, and that goes against your argument. Your parking garage example is only giving people preferential treatment because they could afford an expensive vehicle and it's not incentivizing anything other than laziness.

HOV lane access is a good example of how it didn't work as intended. I've never met a single person who decided to buy an EV solely for the purpose of HOV lane access. It's preferential treatment to those who can afford an EV. There's many environmental groups in California who are against EVs in HOV lanes because it incentivizes people NOT to carpool, which in turn increases vehicles on the road/traffic. Carbon emissions go up due to increased stop and go traffic which is far worse than traveling between 35-65mph. Thankfully, California is phasing out that program in 2025.

Agreed, these spots would annoy ICE drivers. Accusations of entitlement would be made. You absolutely could have an EV parking spot without a charger. Just paint the ground green and put up signs that say “reserved for EVs.” It’s a simple and inexpensive decision. Whether it’s a good idea is certainly open to debate. It’s not only about laziness, it’s also about time. I could list many examples of people paying extra for something to be faster. As for HOV, that’s an example of incenting the wrong behavior. If you want people to carpool, make them carpool to use the lane. If you want people to buy EVs, make an EV lane. I’m not saying that last one is a good idea, but what I am saying is that you can’t ignore human behavior when making policy or infrastructure decisions. People will do what is in their personal interest, not necessarily the greater good. First consider how you want to behave, then design around that.

 

[Mirak]

As per usual, some of you guys are going just a tad overboard with the indignation.

I’ve seen enough busted-ass chargers - we ALL have - that I typically blame the charger first, not the user, at this point. If I pull into a spot and try to charge and it doesn’t work, I’ve already wasted a solid 5 minutes just trying to get the damned charge. At that point, I’m gonna walk into the store and get my damned groceries - not waste even more time relocating to another spot.

And the idea that “well, you could be blocking a repair vehicle” is really going out on a limb, folks. Let’s get real.

Calling out to a stranger “you shouldn’t do that…” good grief. You think that person you’re lecturing is the problem? You’re the problem, too, just in a different way.

 

[DevSecOps]

not waste even more time relocating to another spot.

But you're okay wasting someone else's time? As many others stated, there are some vehicles that don't work with some charge units, or sometimes there's other issues related to that vehicle whereas another vehicle would be able to activate it just fine. Blocking the spot so that you don't have to waste time, while making someone else wait for you to get back isn't something I would tolerate.

And the idea that “well, you could be blocking a repair vehicle” is really going out on a limb, folks. Let’s get real.

It's not just a repair vehicle. I've been to busted chargers and all it took was a phone call to get them working again. But if a car is parked there, then there's no chance of anyone getting it working.

 

[MacherAWD]

I went to a public lot in Salem, Mass, in October, if you have ever been its insane. One spot open, for EV while charging, awesome because I live close but was at 40% so I was going to charge. I open the parking app, pay for my spot, unload the kids. The station was completely down and offline. But at this point I have already paid for my parking spot and the rest of the lot was full, so I obviously stayed.

 

[milepost1]

If the charger is blatantly out of order, fine, whatever. If the charger just wasn't working for them, but not blatantly out of order, leave the spot so someone else can try it. I've seen some cars fail to activate a charger, but the next one pulling in did just fine.

I have pulled into a charger that is not working. After trying to get to charge gave up, but left car in spot.

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