Should gas stations be mandated to have chargers as well?

[Kira]

I just want to make a few observations.
There is an appalling lack of pertinence + organization to the "jumble of points" which pass as EV discussions.

Ex: The "I can't conveniently tow my 6 horse trailer from Texas to Maine with my electric Smart Car" points are, in a word, stupid.
EVs have their place and their utility.

Hearing folk use terms like "freedom" and "free market" is almost always laughable.

John Q. Public can't fathom oil changes. What gets billed as "free spirited debate" is beyond time wasteful.

Just my opinion.

 

[alarmguy]

I dunno. Localized air pollution? I can smell the unburned fuel when any of my neighbors start a gasoline-powered vehicle. However, a lot of my neighbors now have EVs and PHEVs. I get that it pushes off some of the pollution to utilities, but that's an inherently cleaner and more efficient source of power than an ICE.

I never smell fumes from any modern car.

 

[4WD]

Gas stations sell energy drinks

and make a higher ROI with that

 

[alarmguy]

The public is paying for charging stations. But it's early and kind of a way to encourage the use of EVs. I remember one provided by the National Park Service when I mentioned I was driving an EV to a ranger and she said where it was (at an office parking lot) where it was free to the public to use. Or state/federal funding.

California Investing in EV Charging Reliability Statewide With $63 Million in Federal Funding | Caltrans

In a boost for electric vehicle reliability, the U.S. Department of Transportation today awarded Caltrans more than $63 million in federal funds to fix and install more than 1,000 chargers at 300 sites statewide.

dot.ca.gov

New Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers Now Available Along State Highways in Central California | Caltrans

Electric vehicle (EV) drivers now have more fast-charging options along state highways in Central California — including at the popular Tejon Pass Rest Area near the Los Angeles/Kern County line

dot.ca.gov

I've seen publicly funded EV charging at a private business as part of a project funded by a local air pollution control district.

The purchase of this charging station was partially funded by Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District

Around California there are counties that pay for freeway patrol. It's a free service (I couldn't even offer a cash tip) paid for by the state (CHP and Caltrans) plus counties to provide basic roadside services such as tire changing or jump starts. They're obviously competing with AAA roadside service and commercial roadside service. I remember the first time I saw one after my tire blew and the operator said he'd change the tire so I didn't have to get my hands dirty. I remember another time I'd just finished putting the spare on my car when one freeway patrol operator looked at me and saw I was done and drove on.

Freeway Service Patrol

www.chp.ca.gov

Agree, I didnt say they arent but anything goes in that state.

 

[4WD]

I just want to make a few observations.
There is an appalling lack of pertinence + organization to the "jumble of points" which pass as EV discussions.

Ex: The "I can't conveniently tow my 6 horse trailer from Texas to Maine with my electric Smart Car" points are, in a word, stupid.
EVs have their place and their utility.

Hearing folk use terms like "freedom" and "free market" is almost always laughable.

John Q. Public can't fathom oil changes. What gets billed as "free spirited debate" is beyond time wasteful.

Just my opinion.

How about bringing lobsters back to Texas - way lighter …

 

[y_p_w]

I never smell fumes from any modern car.

I do before the catalytic converter warms up. If it's warmed up, the exhaust usually smells like nothing although it is warm.

 

[y_p_w]

Agree, I didnt say they arent but anything goes in that state.

Some of this is federally funded. And California can't have the only state/local governments that are paying for EV charging infrastructure.

 

[Pablo]

I just want to make a few observations.
There is an appalling lack of pertinence + organization to the "jumble of points" which pass as EV discussions.

Ex: The "I can't conveniently tow my 6 horse trailer from Texas to Maine with my electric Smart Car" points are, in a word, stupid.
EVs have their place and their utility.

Hearing folk use terms like "freedom" and "free market" is almost always laughable.

John Q. Public can't fathom oil changes. What gets billed as "free spirited debate" is beyond time wasteful.

Just my opinion.

Exactly like your post ironically.

 

[kschachn]

How about instead of mandating that private gas stations have to have chargers that we decide that we need x chargers in every county and they are government-owned. Better?

What? Honestly I don’t know where you come up with this stuff.

Should the government own the utility as well? Or oil companies for that matter? How about the gas stations?

I’m not paying for your means to charge your vehicle just because you wish to own an EV. Sorry.

 

[kschachn]

There are a lot of government owned businesses that "compete" with private businesses.

Public schools compete with private schools.
Public parks and gardens compete with privately owned parks and gardens that charge an admission fee. Heck - some of the public ones charge an admission fee, but receive government funding.
Publicly owned museums.
Municipal utilities.
The United States Postal Service competes with private delivery companies.
Amtrak and other publicly owned passenger rail.
Airports.
Public transit.
Lotteries compete with private gambling.
Public ports.

I'm pretty sure that's not an exhaustive list.

Ostensibly for the greater good of society. To assist those who choose to purchase an EV does not fall under that unfortunately.

At least not in my world.

 

[y_p_w]

What? Honestly I don’t know where you come up with this stuff.

Should the government own the utility as well? Or oil companies for that matter? How about the gas stations?

I’m not paying for your means to charge your vehicle just because you wish to own an EV. Sorry.

The government owned utility at a previous home I lived in was much cheaper than the private utility monopoly that services where I live now. I mean - there are a lot of government owned utilities. I think the biggest in California is the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Around here's it's the water district. Where I previously lived it was a single bill where all the electricity, water, and refuse were provided by a city utility.

I'm not sure if the Tennessee Valley Authority qualifies as a public utility, but if they were I'd think they're the biggest in the country.

 

[y_p_w]

Ostensibly for the greater good of society. To assist those who choose to purchase an EV does not fall under that unfortunately.

At least not in my world.

Again - I'd think the reduced local air pollution would be something government might want to encourage.

 

[JeffKeryk]

What? Honestly I don’t know where you come up with this stuff.

Should the government own the utility as well? Or oil companies for that matter? How about the gas stations?

I’m not paying for your means to charge your vehicle just because you wish to own an EV. Sorry.

We are all paying for Government Motors bailouts, not to mention our Navy in the Straits of Hormuz.

 

[ecotourist]

I used a number of Tesla Superchargers on a long trip. There is sometimes a choice of where to charge. The factors I use when deciding where to charge are:

• higher charging rate provided (as in 250 kWh vs 125 kWh)
• same side of the road
• nearby facilities (bathrooms, food)

All else being equal I'll charge where there are bathrooms and a food supplier (eg Subway, a restaurant). A service station on the same property is great too - bathrooms and equipment to wash your windshield.

Business owners are largely profit driven. A charging station at a place of business will attract customers. More customers means more profit. They'll figure it out.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Yes, but the quota is a mandate. They are still forced to sell that amount of ethanol.

Its a fine line distinction I agree, but its still not "forced"

There are a few states - 4 or 5 in the midwest I believe, that do have that law - so in that case, there forced - by the state. You would need to review those state's constitutions to figure that out.

However the Renewable Fuel Standard forces the refiners to purchase a certain amount of ethanol, based on their permit to refine crude. So they could sell more as E85, or E20, or I am not 100% sure they couldn't light it on fire and wave their middle finger at Washington if they so chose (and pay the fine from the EPA). Again, it is coercion. There not "forced" to blend it at any given percent I don't think. Its been a while since I read up on it.

 

[greg_J35]

Electric vehicles are the future. Yet ICE vehicles will be here for decades as well.

Should all gas stations be mandated to have chargers? Is having 1-2 chargers minimum reasonable?

I think so.

Absolutely not!

 

[SC Maintenance]

We are all paying for Government Motors bailouts, not to mention our Navy in the Straits of Hormuz.

I disagree with both of those too.

I am OK with government owned public utilities. Things that benefit and are needed by 99% of the population may make sense for the government to own. Like roads. My water comes from an independent water district that is sort of its own government (guaranteed bond issues from the county, but run independently by an appointed board). No private company would have spent the money when it was started - too few homes. I am sure they would love to own it now. My water is cheap and reliable.

However only a small percentage of the population have EV's, and if the split ever becomes big enough the private sector will fill that need anyway. No need for govco intervention.

 

[y_p_w]

There's been news about the New York Thruway Authority's travel plaza requirements for businesses there to be open 7 days a week for any new vendors. However, they also have electric charging where Level 2 is free but Level 3 requires payment.

Electric Vehicles - New York State Thruway

The tricky thing I think would be NACS where obviously Tesla Superchargers are easy, but not not when a lot of Level 3 charging is CCS1. They say there's some sort of adapter, but I guess not a direct additional cable and connector (could Tesla license it out?).

 

[demarpaint]

There's been news about the New York Thruway Authority's travel plaza requirements for businesses there to be open 7 days a week for any new vendors. However, they also have electric charging where Level 2 is free but Level 3 requires payment.

Level 2 charging is free, which means NYS taxpayers are footing the bill. I'll refrain from sharing my thoughts about that. *lol*

 

[y_p_w]

Level 2 charging is free, which means NYS taxpayers are footing the bill. I'll refrain from sharing my thoughts about that. *lol*

I see the possibility of staying there longer and buying more stuff. That's kind of the rationale behind privately operated complimentary EV charging.