Until a road trip where they wish chargers were as obvious as gas stations. Enough exist to make the trip, but are not as common and are not on the beaten path so you need an app to find them.
When I make a road trip I’m often traveling on roads I’ve already looked up and I don’t wasn’t that voice yelling at me so I’m not using a GPS most of the time. We still use the gas car for road trips, but I often play the game “it had been 150 miles where is the nearest charger without using an app” I typically don’t find it the next 50. An app would find one in sure but that isn’t something I should need.
For short trips my EV passes them all and like you say I’m glad I’m not paying those prices. Until I pull into a charger because it is there and discover they have weird pricing systems. yesterday has would have been cheaper because I didn’t know I would have to move so fast and so I paid a minimum charge more half hour worth of charge was worth. (The group tour said meet here I thought it was to unload not drive into normally of limits areas.)
this is… an interesting argument. as an EV driver, you’re essentially saying ‘I want giant signs and chargers on every corner’ which is how you’d find them without needing a map. this seems unlikely to really ever happen because we simply have better options now, but I guess we’ll see.
In a lot of European countries, rest stop signs (along the highways) announce what amenities are available at the rest stop. Those signs include symbols for things like toilets, restaurants, gas stations as well as charging stations. Here’s a German example. Pretty solid solution in my opinion.
In the USA most exits have those signs. Most places that target travelers will have a large sign some place. Gas stations though are always right on the end of the ramp so they don’t need a sign.
rest stops are a public good that won’t have gas though.
Anecdotally, this is not really the case any more in Sweden. There’s a fully sufficient amount of fast chargers along the road for all the road trips I participate in on a regular enough basis.
Basically this is a problem that goes away as EVs continue to get adopted
I just use a better route planner and with ionna building out new good chargers I never worry on trips, I make the same 5 hours trip almost every 2 months and the only time I got worried was when my normal spot was filled and took a chance on a circle k charger and they don’t accept payment on the machine. Thankfully they are getting replaced.
You might have to worry about that, like at most, once a month, for going places where you wouldn’t already have been familiar with charging places including backups if one is closed.
I’m thinking of yearly trips. My in-laws live far enough away that it is a major trip to visit. Flying the family is expensive so often we make it a two or three day road trip. We try to see something weird everyday so it won’t be the same roads or stops. The general plan is head southwest until we hit i10, about 3 pm we book a hotel that we will arrive at around 6, and use GPS to ensure we do, but otherwise there is no reason for using any particular road.
BC Hydro has been very good about adding high speed chargers on all the hwy routes and many gas stations also have added chargers. It keeps getting easier to use an EV although 90% of my charging is at home.
I’m old enough to remember when driving long distances in an ICE car had some of the same range anxiety due to low milage and small tanks, which is why there are abandoned gas stations all over the place. Imagine having as many charging stations around as there are, or were, gas stations?
Until a road trip where they wish chargers were as obvious as gas stations. Enough exist to make the trip, but are not as common and are not on the beaten path so you need an app to find them.
When I make a road trip I’m often traveling on roads I’ve already looked up and I don’t wasn’t that voice yelling at me so I’m not using a GPS most of the time. We still use the gas car for road trips, but I often play the game “it had been 150 miles where is the nearest charger without using an app” I typically don’t find it the next 50. An app would find one in sure but that isn’t something I should need.
For short trips my EV passes them all and like you say I’m glad I’m not paying those prices. Until I pull into a charger because it is there and discover they have weird pricing systems. yesterday has would have been cheaper because I didn’t know I would have to move so fast and so I paid a minimum charge more half hour worth of charge was worth. (The group tour said meet here I thought it was to unload not drive into normally of limits areas.)
this is… an interesting argument. as an EV driver, you’re essentially saying ‘I want giant signs and chargers on every corner’ which is how you’d find them without needing a map. this seems unlikely to really ever happen because we simply have better options now, but I guess we’ll see.
In a lot of European countries, rest stop signs (along the highways) announce what amenities are available at the rest stop. Those signs include symbols for things like toilets, restaurants, gas stations as well as charging stations. Here’s a German example. Pretty solid solution in my opinion.
In the USA most exits have those signs. Most places that target travelers will have a large sign some place. Gas stations though are always right on the end of the ramp so they don’t need a sign.
rest stops are a public good that won’t have gas though.
Anecdotally, this is not really the case any more in Sweden. There’s a fully sufficient amount of fast chargers along the road for all the road trips I participate in on a regular enough basis.
Basically this is a problem that goes away as EVs continue to get adopted
I expect the same here, but we haven’t reached that yet. I have no doubt in twenty years finding gas will start to become a similar effort.
I just use a better route planner and with ionna building out new good chargers I never worry on trips, I make the same 5 hours trip almost every 2 months and the only time I got worried was when my normal spot was filled and took a chance on a circle k charger and they don’t accept payment on the machine. Thankfully they are getting replaced.
You might have to worry about that, like at most, once a month, for going places where you wouldn’t already have been familiar with charging places including backups if one is closed.
I’m thinking of yearly trips. My in-laws live far enough away that it is a major trip to visit. Flying the family is expensive so often we make it a two or three day road trip. We try to see something weird everyday so it won’t be the same roads or stops. The general plan is head southwest until we hit i10, about 3 pm we book a hotel that we will arrive at around 6, and use GPS to ensure we do, but otherwise there is no reason for using any particular road.
BC Hydro has been very good about adding high speed chargers on all the hwy routes and many gas stations also have added chargers. It keeps getting easier to use an EV although 90% of my charging is at home.
I’m old enough to remember when driving long distances in an ICE car had some of the same range anxiety due to low milage and small tanks, which is why there are abandoned gas stations all over the place. Imagine having as many charging stations around as there are, or were, gas stations?
Meanwhile in Ontario…the feds put chargers in, Doug Ford rips them out.
I just took a decent trip in mine. It was fine.
Trips are absolutely doable. However they are not as easy.
So you’re telling us that once again the US is behind the times and assuming everywhere else is the same ?