The problem of EVs in SoCal ( [⚠️ Admin Warning: NO POLITICS]

[bpbailey]

I live in San Diego, charge at home 95% of the time, and dread my trips to LA when I have to access public chargers. LA is charging desert nightmare--too few chargers and too many people trying to access them. I am one of the biggest EV cheerleaders out there, but I have to admit that I would probably not own an EV if I had to rely on the availability of public chargers in southern California.

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[Space_Pony]

Probably because home prices are so high that most are not able to charge at home.

I wouldn't buy a $60,000 car if I couldn't afford a home. I scrimped for many years before buying my first home and now have my own L2 charger.

 

[RickMachE]

To summarize the issues:

• A large number of people that can't charge at home have bought EVs due to government incentives
• The vast majority of people trying to use the chargers are locals
• When they finally get the charger, they charge to 100% which takes 1+ hour per car
• A large number of them have free charging that was included with purchase
• This disproportionally affects Electrify America stations
• A large percentage of stations are always broken or derated

The solution:

• Don't buy an EV if you can't charge at home or your apartment parking
• Don't include free charging with EV purchases
• Limit busy chargers to 85% SoC before they will stop
• Fix the broken chargers
• Build more chargers

Out of Spec were the only people at the charger on a road trip. All the rest were locals. Locals clogging up the charger is a common problem in some areas.

You missed:

- Educate prospective, and current, EV owners as to proper charging etiquette. Some are clueless.

- Enact financial penalties for idle time that are large enough to change behavior.

- Enact laws that fine, and tow, ICE vehicles from EV charging spots.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

I wouldn't buy a $60,000 car if I couldn't afford a home. I scrimped for many years before buying my first home and now have my own L2 charger.

The average price of a house in Southern California is about $875k. A 30 year mortgage at 6.5% would be around $5k a month.

A Mach-E can be had for $600-$800/m for 6 years.

 

[HuntingPudel]

You missed:
<SNIP>

- Enact laws that fine, and tow, ICE vehicles from EV charging spots.

I would change the “ICE” there to “non-charging” to include the fools who just park at a charger. ??

 

[SonicBlue]

To summarize the issues:

• A large number of people that can't charge at home have bought EVs due to government incentives
• The vast majority of people trying to use the chargers are locals
• When they finally get the charger, they charge to 100% which takes 1+ hour per car
• A large number of them have free charging that was included with purchase
• This disproportionally affects Electrify America stations
• A large percentage of stations are always broken or derated

The solution:

• Don't buy an EV if you can't charge at home or your apartment parking
• Don't include free charging with EV purchases
• Limit busy chargers to 85% SoC before they will stop
• Fix the broken chargers
• Build more chargers

Out of Spec were the only people at the charger on a road trip. All the rest were locals. Locals clogging up the charger is a common problem in some areas.

Nowhere in this list do you mention rideshare, which is probably the single biggest contributor to DCFC congestion in large cities

I watched the video earlier today. First thing I thought was that the rideshare drivers taking most of the chargers in cities is just as bad as what they’re talking about in the video.

My next thought was, boy do we need more level 2 charging. If you’re a rideshare driver with an EV or you have an EV but you don’t have charging at your residence, you’d be better off finding a level 2 charger and using it to charge your vehicle.

Exactly.

 

[4sallypat]

Why don't they charge at home?

I do charge at home, but off peak when rates are lower (typically the weekend).

During the weekday, when I have to charge, home charging at peak rates are at $0.63/kWh plus transmission & delivery fees on top of that.

I end up charging at Tesla for half the price (Tesla membership subscription) at $0.32-$0.39/kWh.

Never have to wait at Tesla Superchargers and hardly ever gets full.....

 

[Droonoc]

Yes queuing is by honor system. Most people are really chill about it. But I already ran into an incident when I was charing at the baker charging station and some douchebag driving a Mercedes EV decided to cut in front of someone.

I only recently charged on a public charger for the 1st time in a few years. I found quickly that you have to queue up on your own, which encourages talking with other drivers to see who's waiting. I noticed some waiting in line had flashers on to let everyone know they're not just hanging out near a charger but waiting in line.

In some ways this is great; you get out and say hi to a few people and ask how long they've waited etc. maybe ask about their car if you're interested, or check out that charging status to see how long the wait will be. It does help to encourage some common civility which is nice. Honestly though, I'd live to be able to "check in" at a charger and have it manage the queue, which would eliminate any potential for line jumpers as they wouldn't be able to initiate a charge.

 

[Bilyjck]

I have used the charging station used in this video. I don't understand listing 1 of 3 fast chargers as handicap parking? When I travel to socal I get up at 2-3 am to find open chargers.

 

[Chuck]

The average price of a house in Southern California is about $875k. A 30 year mortgage at 6.5% would be around $5k a month.

A Mach-E can be had for $600-$800/m for 6 years.

And yet every house is owned. Very few houses go unsold. The real problem is that many businesses, including home construction businesses, have left California because California is very hard on businesses.

 

[Chuck]

Nowhere in this list do you mention rideshare, which is probably the single biggest contributor to DCFC congestion in large cities

SoCal isn't like other big cities. It was built in the age of the automobile and because of that there's no one central location that people commute to and from. Rideshare and public transportation will never work here because it doesn't make any sense. My employers, during my career, have spent a lot of money pushing ride share and got little results. That is something will never change about SoCal.

 

[ARK]

I've tried charging in SoCal a handful of times over the years. There is always a line at Electrify America and it's mainly because of Volkswagen Group's free charging, but others also like BMW and Lucid. But it's mostly the Volkswagens because there are so many of them.

It is apparent to me that many people charging are just milking the free credits. People who don't mind spending 20 minutes in line and then another half hour charging to get free energy.

It's clear these people are not on road trips - not dressed like they're traveling, usually alone, unusual hours for a road trip (like middle of the night during the week in October).

If free charging ended, Electrify America would suddenly open up. The non-EA, non-Tesla chargers in LA where there is no free charging are never this busy.

 

[AhardFSU]

SoCal isn't like other big cities. It was built in the age of the automobile and because of that there's no one central location that people commute to and from. Rideshare and public transportation will never work here because it doesn't make any sense. My employers, during my career, have spent a lot of money pushing ride share and got little results. That is something will never change about SoCal.

I know you mean something different, but in this situation when I talk about ride share drivers I’m talking about the Uber and Lyft drivers. Uber and Lyft are pushing their drivers to EVs. As a result, a lot of those drivers take up a good number of DCFC spots in cities around this country.

That’s not cool.

 

[Thunderbuck]

To summarize the issues:

• A large number of people that can't charge at home have bought EVs due to government incentives
• The vast majority of people trying to use the chargers are locals
• When they finally get the charger, they charge to 100% which takes 1+ hour per car
• A large number of them have free charging that was included with purchase
• This disproportionally affects Electrify America stations
• A large percentage of stations are always broken or derated

The solution:

• Don't buy an EV if you can't charge at home or your apartment parking
• Don't include free charging with EV purchases
• Limit busy chargers to 85% SoC before they will stop
• Fix the broken chargers
• Build more chargers

Out of Spec were the only people at the charger on a road trip. All the rest were locals. Locals clogging up the charger is a common problem in some areas.

Easiest solution for this is to provide a LOT more L2 charging in places where cars sit for extended periods of time. Number one priority should be large employers.

 

[Chuck]

I know you mean something different, but in this situation when I talk about ride share drivers I’m talking about the Uber and Lyft drivers. Uber and Lyft are pushing their drivers to EVs. As a result, a lot of those drivers take up a good number of DCFC spots in cities around this country.

That’s not cool.

Ah, yes, I misunderstood your question. Those folks are "ride share" in name only, not in functionality.

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