West Coast EV Hwy.- $7.50 per DCQC starting on 4/1?

I just saw this article this evening:

http://www.plugincars.com/pacific-northwest-builds-out-rapid-charging-network-electric-cars-129392.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It says that either AeroVironment is going to start charging fees for WCEH charging starting 4/1/14. The article seems to suggest that the fees will be $7.50 per DCQC session and $5 per L2 session.

I'm a relatively new Leaf owner (6 weeks), and I realized going in that public charging wasn't going to be free forever. But I really feel that session-based pricing is a poor idea. Especially at $5 per L2 session. What if I just need 30 mins. of L2 to extend my trip a bit? I really feel that energy-based or time-based pricing is a lot more customer friendly. Session-based pricing gives no incentive for a driver to disconnect / move out as soon as they've gotten the energy they need. And some of the WCEH sites I've seen don't have the ability for the cables to reach multiple parking spots.

Heck, even Blink/Car Charging is looking at going to energy-based pricing.

Problem is, I really don't know who to address my concerns about this to...the WCEH program, WSDOT, AV, who? Not that I'm really sure that one drivers' opinion will really matter to them, but it will make me feel better...

I'd appreciate hearing anyone else's thoughts on this.

--G

gmikol said:

I'd appreciate hearing anyone else's thoughts on this.

Click to expand...

Charging a flat fee per charging session is the worst way to do it! Especially for L2!

So now a 200 miles RT trip to the beach will cost me $22.5 (charging mid way each way and to the destination) and take 1.5 hours longer than an ICE car (if there are no other cars chargin already when you get there). For people that have a car that gets over 30mpg, it does not make much sense to use the Leaf for longer trips.

I need a Tesla.

My thoughts, exactly. Part of the reason I bought the leaf was the much lower per-mile operating cost compared to our ICE vehicle. I don't expect public charging to manage that. But I would prefer it didn't offer an economic dis-incentive to using the EV, which these fees seem to do, unless you're DCQC-ing from turtle all the way to 100% (charger congestion, anyone?)

--G

Well, so far this is just the Washington portion of the West Coast EV Highway... Oregon hasn't announced anything yet...

Honestly though, if I thought I was going to use an AV unit more than three times I would just sign up for the $20 all-you-can-eat special, then cancel. Better yet, they should just automatically charge me $20 after the first three uses and allow unlimited additional use for the month...

I would rather pay by the KWh, but nobody expects charging to be free forever.

I can live with the $19.95/month rate that AV is apparently proposing. I like their stations and their service when there are problems. Their phone line and field staff are excellent.

From Vancouver I can head in any direction and find functional AV stations so the system works great for someone like me who is retired and likes to push the limits on my Leaf. I checked the web site after hearing the news and found that they seem to be working towards a payment system. In the process of entering my credit card information the terms pop up looks like a typical but simple user agreement.

My goal is to have my two family RIFDs work immediately when this takes affect and not have to stand around the charger on the cell phone trying to get service when the holdouts wait to the last minute and plug up the system. :lol:

I occasionally (like 3 or 4x per year) drive from Portland to the Seattle area; sometimes going on to Bellingham. In order to minimize charging time, and as a hedge against the all-too-real possibility of one of the EV highway stations being off-line, I stop at EVERY station despite (usually) needing only 50-60% of a charge. Counting the $5 visits to the two Blink stations, that would be over a hundred bucks for the Bellingham round trip, under the $7.50/visit pricing plan. If AV allows a month-by-month renewal of their $20/month pass, that's definitely what i'd opt for.

Since almost all of my quick charging is done with AV I really like the idea of all the electrons my Leaf can eat for $20 a month. Many times I stop for five to twenty minutes & I would rather not pay $5 to $7.50 per charge for this. When I go to Portland I don't mind paying $5 or $10 for a couple of Blink QCs to get around & back to Hood River.

As I've said before, charging a price per USE is a mistake. They should charge something like $0.25/min. When people realize that charging slows down below 80% SOC, they will unplug and move over to the L2 or move on. Otherwise, the DCQC's will be clogged with folks trying to squeeze that last 2-5% into the battery and taking an extra 20-30 min. I've already seen it (at least the four or five times I've talked with others at a DCQC).

So it looks like the official pricing has been announced here:

From: http://evsolutions.avinc.com/services/subscriber_network" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Unlimited monthly access is $19.99 per month

Per-session fees:
$7.50/Session – DC Fast Charger
$4.00/Session – Level 2 Charging Station

(Per session payment is only available by calling our Customer Service Support Line at 888-833-2148).

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(Emphasis mine).

If we have the RFID fob, why can't they bill through the RFID fob? Why make us call in? Sounds like they're doing everything they can to push people into the $20/month subscription plan. (It also seems that they haven't learned any lessons from the problems that the Blink network faced.) The one time I had to call in to AV to get a charge started, I spent 10 minutes on hold, as did the guy I ran into at the WCEH station in Ridgefield, WA with his brand new Focus electric. That presents an undue burden to those who choose to pay per session, on top of the unreasonable (IMO) per-session fees.

I am officially not happy with this...

--G

To "fill up" the LEAF usually takes 2 charging sessions,
assuming that one starts charging below the "50%" mark.

My QC sessions are rarely more than 10 or 15 minutes long.

I agree that per session fees are really poor, unless perhaps
you have a very thirsty 80 kWh Tesla battery.

Well, I just signed up. Arg. I probably use their network once a month, but, the thought of needing to call in, wait on hold, read out a credit card, and all that crap just makes my one trip a month a no-go. It will double the time I'm spent stopped, at least. So, I'll pay the $20 a month for now, but I'm not super happy about it. Even worse is that their network isn't totally complete, so I'll still have to use Blink in the major cities, at $5 a pop.

It does looks like their system is set up to support other plans though. There was even a drop-down to select the only plan available, and there's a field saying that my current plan's "charge events" are "unlimited". That does give me some hope.