Blink QC charging fees

[UkrainianKozak]

On the cost of the charging, It is great if you use it as emergency, but now it makes it cost-prohibitive for long commuters that might rely on it, especially if what's needed is just 5 min boost to get home safely.
It's totally unreasonable to pay $5 every day for 5min quick charge.
Another rattle for me is parking fees at some QC stations. For example in Seattle in SLU QC you have to pay $3 for 2 hour parking, which you will never fully use while QCing plus now you'll have to pay $5 to charge on top of that...
So basically if I need 5 min charge boost, which is I think a very good use of quick charger, you actually really use it as a gas station... but now it cost you $8 for 5 min pit-stop... That I think is unreasonable.
So if Blink wants to use QC network as a network for EV emergency charge, I think the price might be even more - if you really needed you'll pay anway, but if they want to main-streaming QC, the pricing structure as it is proposed is not really make sesnse IMHO...

On top of that per-session fee would encurage 100% charging when people really don't need it, but 100% charging is much slower than charging to 80%, so in the future the QC availability will suffer from this cost structure.

 

[LEAFfan]

I've used Blink DC FC in about 5 locations, and no matter whether I set it at 80, 90, or 100%, all the Blink stations I've used stop at roughly 80% on my Gidmeter...

On a '11/'12, you have to be at least 50% full on the Blink QC screen for it to charge past 80%. The '13, however, will charge to 90% in 30 mins or less no matter where you start.

I don't think that's true. I regularly quick charge my '11 Leaf to 90% from below 50%, you just need to hit more options button.

Yes, it is true. I QC charged with my '11 over a hundred times, and it always stopped close to 80% IF the % on the Blink QC was 49% or lower. Watch carefully next time you QC and you will see. Remember, not 49% or lower in the car, but on the Blink QC screen. It makes no difference which option you choose when it shows below 50%.

 

[KJD]

Looks like I will just be using the free L2 at the park-n-ride next to my house at night

And this is why public charging should always have some nominal fee close to the cost of electricity...

Agree 100%

 

[smkettner]

I opted for no L3 so no worries here :|

 

[aftabu]

Got an email from Blink that the fee to use the QC will start on 6/10 @
$5 for Blink members and $8 for non-members .

=============================================================================
Blink Network's goal is to give you the freedom to stay charged whenever and wherever you want. Our Blink DC Fast Chargers are there to help you charge up and charge on quickly.

As of June 10, we’ll be adding Blink DC Fast Chargers to our membership plans. All Blink members will be able to fast charge at an introductory rate of just $5 per session. Guests may also charge for $8 per fast charge.

Now, more than ever, it makes dollars and sense to be a Blink member. There's no annual fee, your membership card is free and there's no prepayment. If you haven’t registered to become a Blink member yet, why not sign up today?

Haven’t used a Blink DC Fast Charger yet? Take a look at our BlinkMap to find one near you.

Charge on.

Blink
==================================================

 

[dm33]

Got an email from Blink that the fee to use the QC will start on 6/10 @
$5 for Blink members and $8 for non-members .

=============================================================================
Blink Network's goal is to give you the freedom to stay charged whenever and wherever you want. Our Blink DC Fast Chargers are there to help you charge up and charge on quickly.

As of June 10, we’ll be adding Blink DC Fast Chargers to our membership plans. All Blink members will be able to fast charge at an introductory rate of just $5 per session. Guests may also charge for $8 per fast charge.

Now, more than ever, it makes dollars and sense to be a Blink member. There's no annual fee, your membership card is free and there's no prepayment. If you haven’t registered to become a Blink member yet, why not sign up today?

Haven’t used a Blink DC Fast Charger yet? Take a look at our BlinkMap to find one near you.

Charge on.

Blink
==================================================

Wow. That seems very high doesnt it? Apparently it doesn't matter how long the charge session is? This seems to seriously diminish the entire value of having a quick charge port. Are there non-Blink quick chargers? Seems hard to justify $8 for even a full charge, much less a partial charge. If you get 60 mile range from a charge compared to a 30 mpg car, thats about 2 gallons, gas would have to be $4 to even match that high price. Not much incentive for having an electric car. You can also get a car with much better gas mileage and pay much less for gas so in many cases this is more expensive than a gas equivalent.

And this is their 'introductory' rate? I wonder how much they'll end up trying to charge.

Does anyone use Blink for any of their chargers? Everything I hear makes them sound unrealistically expensive. They're uncommon in my area, Chargepoint seems to be the network here and I haven't seen one yet that charges anything.

 

[davewill]

Already posted yesterday: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=13066" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[dm33]

Seems too high. If getting a 50% charge, say 12kwh at 0.15/kwh thats $1.80 for the cost of electricity. (Our rates are 0.09/kwh). Yet charging $8. That will choke the EV market before it gets going.

I hope others don't follow suit.

It should also be time based, ie a per minute charge. You want to encourage people to get off quickly. With this pricing, whats to stop someone from plugging in and leaving it there for hours. Same price as someone who wants a quick 5 minute boost.

 

[aftabu]

Agreed. Flat $5 rate is going to cause people to charge upto 100% and will create bottleneck.
Better strategy should have been

1) 20-30 cent a minute with a minimum fee of $2.
2) Put a upper time limit on how long you can charge ( like 30 or 40 minutes.. This can also vary with capacity). OR no charging allowed beyond 80%.

 

[mbender]

I'm actually unconvinced that quick-charging couldn't or shouldn't be free to the users all the time (a la the "internet model"). That is, unless I'm doing the math wrong, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to subsidize the electricity and maintenance solely through advertising and partnerships (with the property owners, utilities &or governments).

Here are some simple calculations, with fairly generous assumptions.

- Each QC delivers 20kWh every 30 minutes in each hour of a day = 480kWh/day
- @ $0.20/kWh = $96/day per charger

Call it $100 per day per charger for the electricity -- probably on the high end, given the $0.20/kWhr rate used and the estimate of 12 hours per day an average unit would be in use.

Now I'm no pricing expert for advertising, but it seems to me that with the big screens on most of these chargers + the captive, well-defined and well-inclined audience, it would be very easy to cover the $100 per day. Wouldn't it? And I'm guessing much more than that could be commanded (adding in cost-sharing with property owners for increased traffic and visibility), which would ideally cover hardware, installation and overhead.

Or am I "way off"? It just seems that if the yahoos, googles and facebooks of this world can swing it, so should the blinks.

 

[Volusiano]

It seems ironic that the success of BEV depends on the availability of public charging stations, but now the fees imposed on these stations make it costly prohibitive for BEV owners to justify using them unless as a last resort.

The fundamental premise of the success of BEV hinges on the economics of low cost charging to trump the high cost of gasoline. If half of the BEV's success criteria is conditional on the mobility of BEV afforded by the availability of public charging stations, the high charging fees of these public stations have already managed to cripple any chance for BEV's mobility success now. The charging infrastructure not only has to be ubiquitous, it also has to be cheap (at least cheaper than gas).

 

[KeiJidosha]

Seems too high. If getting a 50% charge, say 12kwh at 0.15/kwh thats $1.80 for the cost of electricity. (Our rates are 0.09/kwh). Yet charging $8. That will choke the EV market before it gets going.

I hope others don't follow suit.

It should also be time based, ie a per minute charge. You want to encourage people to get off quickly. With this pricing, whats to stop someone from plugging in and leaving it there for hours. Same price as someone who wants a quick 5 minute boost.

Good point. Price value will vary with location. Here in California, with >35¢/kWh peak demand pricing, it's a different value proposition.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

OMG! Now we have to pay for our own fuel too? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'd love to pay $5 to QC, if I only frickin' had one!

Hey Blink, (or anybody else), come on out to the right coast and put some up, please.

It's hard to relate when we're living in L2 only land.

 

[KeiJidosha]

It seems ironic that the success of BEV depends on the availability of public charging stations, but now the fees imposed on these stations make it costly prohibitive for BEV owners to justify using them unless as a last resort.

The fundamental premise of the success of BEV hinges on the economics of low cost charging to trump the high cost of gasoline. If half of the BEV's success criteria is conditional on the mobility of BEV afforded by the availability of public charging stations, the high charging fees of these public stations have already managed to cripple any chance for BEV's mobility success now. The charging infrastructure not only has to be ubiquitous, it also has to be cheap (at least cheaper than gas).

Cost of operation is an incentive for EVs. but utility is also important. With <100 mile range, lack or unreliable public charging may be even more of a disincentive. Price has to encourage installations without compromising availability.

 

[jpa2825]

OMG! Now we have to pay for our own fuel too? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'd love to pay $5 to QC, if I only frickin' had one!

Hey Blink, (or anybody else), come on out to the right coast and put some up, please.

It's hard to relate when we're living in L2 only land.

Try living someplace where even L2 is almost as rare as a bigfoot sighting -- other than those beef jerky commercials.

Hoping to at least DCQC 1x in the remaining 30 mos. of my lease! I am confident it will happen.

 

[derkraut]

It seems ironic that the success of BEV depends on the availability of public charging stations, but now the fees imposed on these stations make it costly prohibitive for BEV owners to justify using them unless as a last resort.

The fundamental premise of the success of BEV hinges on the economics of low cost charging to trump the high cost of gasoline. If half of the BEV's success criteria is conditional on the mobility of BEV afforded by the availability of public charging stations, the high charging fees of these public stations have already managed to cripple any chance for BEV's mobility success now. The charging infrastructure not only has to be ubiquitous, it also has to be cheap (at least cheaper than gas).

+1

What Volusiano says above makes a lot of sense to me. The PRIMARY reason I purchased an electric car was because of ever-increasing prices for gasoline.

 

[klapauzius]

Its a mystery to me why they cannot come up with a reasonably consumption based price structure.
A price per kWH used would make much more sense.
It peeves me already that they L2 chargers are paid for time used on not energy used (halving the price for someone with 6.6 kW charger).

Imagine a flat $500 fee for using a gas station. Or $1 per second at the pump.

 

[davewill]

Its a mystery to me why they cannot come up with a reasonably consumption based price structure.
A price per kWH used would make much more sense. ...

Some states don't allow electricity to be sold by the kWh. It's part of the laws that create a utility monopoly. California does allow it, but I suspect the companies just don't want to deal with different pricing in different places.

In the case of L2, you aren't just using the electricity, you are also tying the station down while you're there. A busy station should only make half the money because your car charges slowly?

 

[padamson1]

Wow. That seems very high doesnt it? Apparently it doesn't matter how long the charge session is? This seems to seriously diminish the entire value of having a quick charge port. Are there non-Blink quick chargers? Seems hard to justify $8 for even a full charge, much less a partial charge. If you get 60 mile range from a charge compared to a 30 mpg car, thats about 2 gallons, gas would have to be $4 to even match that high price. Not much incentive for having an electric car. You can also get a car with much better gas mileage and pay much less for gas so in many cases this is more expensive than a gas equivalent.

And this is their 'introductory' rate? I wonder how much they'll end up trying to charge.

Does anyone use Blink for any of their chargers? Everything I hear makes them sound unrealistically expensive. They're uncommon in my area, Chargepoint seems to be the network here and I haven't seen one yet that charges anything.

Fortunately I won't have to worry about their prices as BLink's QC chargers rarely are functioning when I try to use them. Last 5 times I've tried to QC (at four different locations) the units have either been (1) out of service or (2) unable to charge my car due to SW errors (starts charge, ends as soon as current turns on, and states "Charge complete" even though it correctly states my battery percent as somewhere between 20-40%).
I have no such problems with the AeroVironment units on the EV Highway. 5 for 5 using them and they also seem to stop on the correct percentage (when the BLinks worked they always were over stating by 15-20% so I never got the charge I asked for).

BLink L2 chargers usually are operational, but their touchpads seem to fail a lot when the units are not in a covered area. In general I only use BLink public chargers when I'm desperate.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Could somebody edit the title to reflect it is the 76 Blink DC chargers only?

Edit: Can we just merge it with this thread:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=296513#p296513" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;