Idle charges on EA

[kltye]

I'm curious about idle charges and peoples' behavior. At an EA station on Christmas day, and two cars are sitting at the station racking up idle fees. One of them is an Uber Bolt, and the other is a Rivian. Is EA not actually charging them the fees, or could some other entity be paying for it, especially for the Uber?

 

[AliRafiee]

The bottom one is interesting. On the charger for less than 90 minutes and has been idle for 50 of them.

If you ask me, the idle fee should be $5 a minute

 

[bshaw]

The bottom one is interesting. On the charger for less than 90 minutes and has been idle for 50 of them.

If you ask me, the idle fee should be $5 a minute

$5 a minute and after 30 idle minutes, a tow company can come and collect the $150 from EA by moving the car.

Doesn’t even have to tow the car off the lot, just move it out of the way to free up the charger for the next person.

 

[kltye]

The 1-minute idle fee turned into 10 minutes, after which I decided to unplug the car so I could plug in.

I think idle fees should increase as time goes by. First minute is a grace period, next minute is 40 cents, then 80 cents, then $5, then $10, etc. EA makes way more than 40 cents per minute for someone actively charging, especially if it's >60kW.

Some people probably don't give a crap about paying idle fees if they treat it as paying for parking. Definitely towing them someplace far to heavily inconvenience them would be great.

 

[RSF]

The 1-minute idle fee turned into 10 minutes, after which I decided to unplug the car so I could plug in.

I think idle fees should increase as time goes by. First minute is a grace period, next minute is 40 cents, then 80 cents, then $5, then $10, etc. EA makes way more than 40 cents per minute for someone actively charging, especially if it's >60kW.

Some people probably don't give a crap about paying idle fees if they treat it as paying for parking. Definitely towing them someplace far to heavily inconvenience them would be great.

No matter what, I would never unplug another person's car.

 

[kltye]

No matter what, I would never unplug another person's car.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It was at 100% and they were being charged $0.40 per minute. If they don't respect others, I certainly hope they don't expect respect from others.

 

[available_username2]

No matter what, I would never unplug another person's car.

ok, but I will if they deserve it

 

[byoungblood]

No matter what, I would never unplug another person's car.

If they're sitting at 100% charge, and have 30+ minutes of idle time?

If I need the charger, the cable will reach my vehicle, and they're nowhere to be found, they're going to get unplugged. If I end up blocking them in, that's their own damn fault. People have got to stop walking off from chargers for protracted periods of time. Going to use the bathroom or grab a quick bite to eat is understandable, leaving your car parked at a DCFC for 90 minutes or more is another.

 

[Mach-Lee]

No matter what, I would never unplug another person's car.

That is such a defeatist position, especially if you have to charge and unplugging a car at 100% is the only option.

 

[FullyCharged]

We have multiple L2 ChargePoint stations at work and the growing number of PHEV’s have been the bane of the EV’s… they are trying to do 100% electric for their commute but with a small pack they need to charge every single day, are usually done by 10am, but then hog the chargers all day long. No amount of friendly reminders, signs, site-wide emails have changed the behavior. We are moving to idle charges through ChargePoint as a result. Can’t happen fast enough.

 

[generaltso]

P.S. I hope you stopped the session from the screen and not the handle. That can screwup the cars charger.

DCFC doesn’t use the car’s charger.

 

[kltye]

You probably did him a favor. He probably had a medical emergency and was rushed to the hospital and was not only going to get f-ed by the hospital but also by all the idle fees.

P.S. I hope you stopped the session from the screen and not the handle. That can screwup the cars charger.

The session was already stopped, and connector was deenergized. Only thing keeping the handle attached was the CCS latch.

And yes, I was considering leaving the station and inconveniencing myself to go elsewhere to charge, but decided to be a good Samaritan instead

 

[kltye]

We have multiple L2 ChargePoint stations at work and the growing number of PHEV’s have been the bane of the EV’s… they are trying to do 100% electric for their commute but with a small pack they need to charge every single day, are usually done by 10am, but then hog the chargers all day long. No amount of friendly reminders, signs, site-wide emails have changed the behavior. We are moving to idle charges through ChargePoint as a result. Can’t happen fast enough.

I used to have a PHEV with a tiny battery and 3.3kW on board charger. I know the pain of trying to do an electric-only commute, but I definitely always unplug when full. Don't know why it's so hard for people to be considerate. Wish idle charges were a thing everywhere by default. Win-win for charge operator and drivers.

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