First, thank you all for your support and action; I know it was a fire drill and a longshot, but it was worth trying. And still worth trying to veto- not least because GM revealed tonight that they'd blown me off from the beginning, as even though my initial post spoke of the plug-in advocates as a group, they were convinced that I was the only one who hated the bill, and I was just trying to rile y'all up for sport or something. Since I don't have a plug-in of any kind, none of the chargers in my area use this law (so I'd be utterly unaffected no matter what happens), and I've been enough of a Volt supporter that I regularly get accused of shilling for GM...I'm not sure what they think my motivation would be for that, but ok...maybe the Nissan paycheck? (I kid, just a joke..don't go starting any rumors!
TEG said:
EricBayArea said:
...I feel that charging stalls should be for EVs only - not PHEVs. .
There was a recent discussion (perhaps debate) going on over at teslamotorsclub which included this stance & consideration.
On the one hand, we have some Leaf & Tesla owners who one might call "BEV bigots" or perhaps "100% EV purists" (to which I mostly find myself) who feel that the PHEVs are intruding on "our" space. But Chelsea (who I might call a PHEV advocate) made some strong arguments that we ought to ease up a bit and be more welcoming of the PHEVs even if we wish some of those buyers would take the bigger step and go for a full 100% BEV. One of the statements was that most people are still looking at gasoline cars, and PHEVs are mostly considered novel, so having the "100% BEV camp" trying to keep the PHEVs out could possible scare some shoppers away from considering PHEVs which would be a shame because I think we all agree that more miles driven on electricity is a good thing even if the vehicle is dragging around a gas engine that runs some of the time.
The details of exactly who is entitled and gets access to which kind of charging infrastructure still has a way to go, particularly as quick chargers roll out too, but a blanket statement that PHEVs should stay out of 100% BEV spots for now seems overboard to me at this point.
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Another point - what is considered "while charging"? Do they actually check that the vehicle is charging or just plugged in? A PHEV is likely to get "full" sooner, so may not have the same value in being in the spot a long time as would, for instance, a nearly empty Leaf that wanted to park there all day.
Thanks, TEG- I'd actually call myself a plug-in advocate; I'm a total EV fan, but think that especially at this stage, PHEVs are useful for certain circumstances, and dismissing them entirely will keep some folks from getting a plug-in anything because they can't or won't go full EV. In both groups, I have my own personal likes and dislikes, but as an advocate, I just can't dismiss an entire category if it can serve a useful role in moving all of this forward.
I also think that while it's appropriate to filter some incentives for the more electrified vehicles (the exact criteria may differ from one incentive to another) basic access to fuel should be open to all. More EV miles are good, as TEG said. Some of the folks who got PHEVs because they were fearful will see that it really is pretty easy to stay in electric mode (assuming it's a decently electrified PHEV) and will jump to an EV faster. The visibility will help invite the next wave of consumers to jump at least from a gas car to a PHEV- we have few enough plug-ins on the road of any type that we should want them all to be seen as much as possible. Heck we still get excited when
we see another EV on the road because it's still not that common. And of course site owners aren't going to want to shun their PHEV patrons, so I find it hard to believe they'd be willing to do enforce an EV-only rule anyway, especially if they had any share in paying for the infrastructure or are paying for the electricity. In the end, they get to decide who they're giving "fuel" to- and in the monetized sites, it's the PHEVs that are most likely to pay.
I do think there is a community aspect to this too. Anyone getting a plug-in of any type is trying to be part of the solution somehow or they wouldn't spend the extra money. Especially at this early stage, it's better to be inclusive, rather than coming off like a bunch of elitists, and make it off-putting to want to stay involved, let alone get an EV next. We can urge OEMs to make better (more electrified) cars, but it's not productive to punish those who bought what's available today.