Use the plugshare app! LOL

JamieGeek

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Video (shared by plugshare on Twitter) LOL:


Here is the tweet:
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macchiaz-o

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I tried the charger locator in the FordPass app this morning. It's pretty basic. Tons of room for improvement.

It hasn't got any of the route planning features that Ford talked about yesterday. So at least we know that updates are forthcoming. In the meantime (and for years afterward, is my guess), it will still be useful to have PlugShare installed.

Some of the PlugShare benefits:
  • check-in to charge sites and leave comments and photos.
  • finer grained filter options for plug types, brands, etc.
  • the map is smarter about when to refresh search results
  • shows charger in-use status for more locations (FordPass seems to show this only for "in network" locations)
  • can open the site photos, see photo captions, and zoom in (FordPass only shows photo thumbnails)
  • quick access to street view photography
  • can visually see chargers along a route (we know this is coming to FordPass)
Benefits of the FordPass map:
  • Indicates when a site supports Plug and Charge. I only see this on Electrify America locations.
  • Can see which sites are "in network" with FordPass. Seems to be just ChargePoint and EA.
 

ajmartineau

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Interesting...
I looked up an EA location near me using the Foodpass. It has the rating, check-ins, and pictures from Plugshare. That's really smart. The Chevy App doesn't do that so you have to cross-reference the stations on a trip.
 

macchiaz-o

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Interesting...
I looked up an EA location near me using the Foodpass. It has the rating, check-ins, and pictures from Plugshare. That's really smart. The Chevy App doesn't do that so you have to cross-reference the stations on a trip.
I wasn't able to open up or zoom in on the photos, or see any captions, and those are often useful. So I'd still cross reference with PlugShare.

Also, back in December, I marked a PlugShare site near me as restricted (it was incorrect in PlugShare). This made it disappear from the EV charging map found on Ford's web site. But it still shows in the FordPass mobile app as an unrestricted site. Which is weird.

Update... Just checked more carefully. The app knows it's a restricted charge site... The problem is FordPass app lets me filter to just Restricted sites or to Public+Restricted. There's no option to filter to just Public sites.
 

dbsb3233

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I can see this is going to be a very frustrating exercise for new BEV drivers. EA is pretty clear and easy and consistent, which is great. But nearly all of these other chargers are like Easter egg hunts trying to find where they exist, how much they'll cost, whether you can use them overnight, etc. It's a PITA.

I can see why Ford felt the need to give customers a single place to try and find them, but it can only be as good as the systems it draws data from. And they're far from consistent and dependable themselves.

People complain about EA but is looks like a godsend compared to all this other piecemeal stuff. It's all got a LONG way to go.
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