ya, i have it. went to Dept of Ecology to plug in a week ago. there are 3 or 4 stations there (for nearly a year there was only one so cant remember what is there now) but have never seen many plugged in. i am relatively certain there is additional charging for employees only since the State owns Leafs as well
but the other day, they were all full except one. now, i had no business there. was going to Jungle Jim's across the Street but another charger a bit closer was already taken
but i live in town and was only plugging in to get free juice as part of an experiment to see how well i could adjust if i had to plug in (saved me from pluggin in at home up to 6 day stretches)
but the demand for chargers shows several good things
1) demand. right now, i feel the slow rollout of QC's and such is due to demand and acceptance. a lot of FUD is causing an incorrect portrayal of the EV community right now.
case in point; the $100 tax legislation for all EVs in WA. i am ok with it on the level in that, i want to pay my fair share ($100 is a bit less than i feel i should pay) but it unfairly penalizes many people i know simply because they don t drive that much. One guy from Oly who has been petitioning businesses to provide charging stations FOR OVER A DECADE, owns 2 EVs both NEVs. both average 4,000 miles a year and both are used as daily commuters, so they dont sit very long. they do have one gas car they share between 3 adult drivers and it is parked most of the time.
but anyway, sidestepping a bit, but it does illustrate the massive misunderstanding over our thoughts, needs and desires.
but having a "shortage" of EVs still shows there is demand. both government and private business will see this and will come around. hopefully it wont take years of complaining before this happens
2) this situation i am hoping will bring the EV community together. lets all get on the same page as far as equitable sharing of stations including proper station placement.
around here, i see the State buildings generally have it right. the Dept of Ecology, each station services two parking spaces which was my savior. i parked next to another Leaf that was not plugged in, so guessing he got what he needed and disconnected. there was another pair of Leafs farther down. one was plugged in but down charging. so dont know if the next one needed to be plugged in or had already completed charging. his charge door was not open though so not a lot to do on that but if had signage available to advise of status, that would be very helpful
i see a business even in that. a company gaining traction on a design concept that is color coded would allow EV'ers to know the status from a glance at a distance.
now, all this seems a bit far fetched and ya, requires a lot of cooperation on several different levels. but its either we are here to do whatever we can to make it work for now or struggle more than we need to if we dont
3) back to that "for now" statement; in 3-5 years, i think this discussion we still be here but on a much different level. cars will be integrated into any networked charger so guessing will not be an issue.
i envision the ability for the car to be smart enough to find say the 3 closest stations AND provide status like;
"in use but expected charge completion in less than an hour"
"in use, but disconnect authorized"
"in use but disconnect authorized after 2 PM"
get the picture?? all this will happen if we demonstrate the need (ie; bitch and moan!)
the alternative install millions of chargers and that will happen too, but we will have hundreds of millions of EVs by then...
