More Californians are driving EVs, making public charging a ‘potential nightmare’ | Opinion

EV drivers, like everyone else, are creatures of habit. They have their go-to charging stations where they can plug in, use the bathroom, maybe grab a sandwich.

Lately, though, some of the most convenient fast-charging stations — mostly those located off major highways — have become gridlocked, especially on busy weekends. Drivers are reporting waits of half an hour or more — sometimes much more. One driver who posted on Reddit waited three hours to charge in Kettleman City on Thanksgiving weekend, turning a five-and-a-half-hour trip into a 10-and-a-half-hour ordeal.

Ugh.

Look, it’s one thing to spend 30 or 40 minutes charging a battery, which is a given when you take an EV on a road trip. But having to wait in a long line just to get to an open charging bay?

What’s happening now is “potentially a nightmare for drivers as more EVs hit the road,” described GreenBiz transportation writer Vartan Badalian.

Good for the environment, not so good for drivers

In California, more than 20% of new cars purchased in 2023 were EVs, according to the California New Car Dealers Association, and that number will only grow as the state gets closer to phasing out sales of new, gasoline-powered cars.

That’s good for the environment, but not so swell for the drivers competing for a limited number of chargers.

The logical answer is to add more chargers. The state of California says it’s doing that.

“The California Energy Commission (CEC) is focused on rapidly deploying funds to meet the surge in demand and ensure an accessible, reliable, convenient charging network,” wrote CEC’s director of communication.

But throwing money at a problem is no guarantee it will be resolved in short order. So while we’re waiting for that “convenient charging network” to appear, what should we do?

Badalian, the transportation writer, has an idea on how to deal with gridlock:

“As you approach a full charging location, your EV (of any make) connects to the charging location and enters itself into a virtual queue, with entry to the queue dependent upon close geographical proximity. Drivers then park in an available normal parking spot, and only when prompted, proceed to plug in and charge. If a driver attempted to charge before their turn, the chargers would simply not communicate with the vehicle..”

A haphazard honor system

If only that would work. Unfortunately, plug-in chargers have a tough enough time fulfilling their basic task of delivering electricity.

Here’s how bad it is: A survey of non-Tesla chargers conducted in the Bay Area in 2022 found that 27% of chargers were not working.

This would be a good time to point out that Tesla superchargers have a much better performance record than other types of chargers, and that Tesla is opening “select” supercharger stations to other types of vehicles.

Also, efforts are being made to increase the reliability of public chargers; the U.S. Department of Transportation just awarded $149 million in grants for the repair and replacement of broken chargers. The biggest share, $64 million, is going to California.

In other words, hope is on the horizon.

For now, though, we seem to be relying on a haphazard honor system.

Foiled in little Los Alamos

Here’s how the honor system played out during a recent stop in Los Alamos, a sweet little town in Santa Barbara County along the 101. It’s a dot-on-the-map kind of place — population 1,275 — but it’s been discovered thanks to its tasting rooms, boutique hotels and gourmet restaurants, including one with a Michelin star. It’s also blessed with a non-Tesla, fast-charging station — a rarity for a town of that size — that’s made it popular with EV drivers.

When I pulled in, hoping to get a quick charge, I was immediately warned off by a stern-faced man wagging a finger at me. Turns out, one charger was out of service, the other spaces were filled — some with cars whose drivers were nowhere to be seen, meaning who knows when they might be back. Only one driver appeared close to being finished, and the self-appointed line monitor was first up for that one, with another person waiting behind him.

I moved on to Buellton, where I wound up charging at a tiny, hidden-away station near an alley behind City Hall.

How about a special ‘waiting lane’?

There’s got to be a better way to keep order. Heck, restaurants do a better job keeping order by just asking customers to scrawl their names on a waiting list.

How hard would it be to use some orange cones to designate a “waiting lane”? That way drivers pulling in could get an immediate read on how long they might have to wait. No finger wagging required.

Also, limit drivers to an 80% charge, and require them to drive away within, say, five minutes after the charger has stopped. That might be hard to enforce, but peer pressure can be a powerful incentive.

The point is, somebody has to step up and make charging stations more driver-friendly, and the obvious choice is whoever is in charge of the chargers.

Otherwise, there will be even more disgruntled EV drivers out there — like the guy who waited three hours in Kettleman City — who will scare off folks who are contemplating an EV purchase.

For the sake of the environment, we don’t want that to happen. So get this fixed, please.

If you are thinking of buying an EV, don’t let the scare stories stop you. Just avoid Kettleman City — and Los Alamos — on busy weekends. And be sure to pack some reading material.