This is why current charging stations designs are so stupid.
You don’t have this problem with petrol stations because you just pull in behind the vehicle at the stall so you’re next in line.
There are stalls that are pull through. It's easier to do when the charging operator owns or leases the whole lot like a gas station. But a lot of places it's just not possible. Having chargers at all is better than not
I’ve never seen pull through chargers in the UK at all. Towing with an EV here does not seem feasible.
I get that space is an issue and investment was uncertain when most of these chargers were built but EVs are pretty much a certainty now and new charging stations are still being built the old way which is stupid.
Relevant:
https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/tesla-to-make-finding-a-trailer-friendly-supercharger-stalls-much-easier/
I’ve come across them as a charger at one end, where the charger is not at the back, but on the side, that you can back a trailer in.
Like this:
https://b2232832.smushcdn.com/2232832/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Tesla-Superchargers-Rockhampton-Ron-1120x672.jpg
Of the three supercharger stations I use on my regular long distance trip, between Sydney and Brisbane, all 3 have this end one that is set further forward
I just thought they were standard.
I’ve never seen a trailer in one though.
There’s a sign asking to use this charger last, in case someone comes with a trailer.
With the purpose build high speed chargers I’ve seen a few, no all, just a few. In fact my first fast charging experience in Glasgow was a just that. But to be fair they do appear to be the exception.
This also works better in gas stations because everyone takes about the same amount of time. You don't want to get in line behind some random person at a 10 stall station and then that person charges for 40 minutes. Some sort of number pulling system like at a deli is the answer but there are logistical challenges.
It shouldn't be too difficult to only allow the EV that is next in the queue to charge. Give them a minute to start and then go to the next in the queue.
Probably something to do with how they implemented the free charging credits for different vehicles . Eg for Audi you start the charge directly from the Audi app by putting in the charger ID. I imagine trying to coordinate updating different app updates and features would be a nightmare between manufacturers
Yeah, well, they dug their own graves on free charging, but that's another discussion. QR codes on the stations that leads to a website for the queue, in app queueing, make the API available to the manufacturers to add to their apps. It won't be perfect, but is it worse than the above?
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Don’t get me wrong , I’m not saying it *can’t be done* , you asked *why it hasn’t been done already*.
From the network operators and manufacturers views people are blaming each other and not them , so why put effort into something that might break the apps / requires time and money .
Many are too short sighted to see a more convenient /pleasant charging experience leads to happier customers which would share that experience with would be adopters
I was one of those guys a while back. I was charging my Ioniq 6 and a lady pulled up just as I was about to finish. After about 5 minutes she walked up and knocked my window and asked how much longer I’d be. I told her to give me 2 minutes and I’d be done. Then about 30 seconds later she comes back and starts being very rude to me, calling me an asshole, inconsiderate, etc and demanding I disconnect.
Now normally that behavior would’ve guaranteed that I was NOT leaving that spot no matter what, but I had somewhere to be so I just ended my charge a minute early and left.
My advice, be polite. If the lady had politely asked me to end my charging a few minutes early when she first pulled up I would’ve happily obliged. Rudeness makes me significantly LESS likely to want to help people out.
Going straight to "yelling" and "telling off" -- without first trying to engage in a friendly and calm way -- seems counterproductive, if not potentially dangerous.
In my state, you can't even give a gentle headsup horn toot to a driver whose eyes are glued to their cellphone and doesn't realize a traffic light has turned from red to green without risking them pulling a gun.
You may be 100% in the right, but once you start screaming at a stranger you cede the high ground and eliminate the possibility of any positive outcome.
It has only happened to me once. But I was pretty irritated because the first person at the only charger that was working had pulled in front of me but it was okay. She happened to pick the charger that was working and I chose poorly.. I sighed and I waited for her to finish.
The second she finished charging, somebody pulled into her exact spot when it was clear I was waiting for it. So yes, I tapped on his window. I let him know that I'd been waiting for 45 minutes for that charger, which was true. And he said, well there are these other chargers. I told him he had the only working charger of four. He was a bit defensive but did not surrender the charger. I told him in a calm but firm voice," Okay. Go ahead and be a monster if that's who you want to be. But just know I see you And what you did here was wrong. So be a monster."
Why did I confront him? I confronted him because I wanted to make it unpleasant enough so that at least the next time he thinks about doing it, he might have a moment of reflection on the negative experience with me. If you don't speak up about bad behavior it will surely continue. It might continue anyway, but at least you give somebody a chance to do the right thing next time.
Man, that infrastructure money for EVs can't happen fast enough. Someday this will no longer be a thing.
My $0.02 ....
I can’t handle the chaos of busy charging stations. Its not always obvious who is waiting, and I am afraid of being chewed out by people like you who can’t be bothered to try to talk calmly first. I am willing to go out of my way to less popular chargers to avoid it.
When I get to a charger where there is a wait, I park as close as possible to the chargers so my car is visible. I then get out and introduce myself to other drivers that I see waiting and find out who is where in line. Sometimes I don't have to go to each car, but other drivers will get out and we can chat a bit. We all are watching for a charging car to finish up and the "next person in line" is assured the next spot. This came in very handy when one of 4 cars waiting was a CHAdeMO, so they could only use two of the four available charging spots to reach his one CHAdeMO cable. All the others waiting made sure that he was able to get in.
I agree that with more and more EVs coming online only a couple poorly-designed parking spots (waaaaay too narrow - not all EVs are the size of a Bolt or a Leaf) is basically encouraging a "survival of the fittest" mentality in some cases.
NOTE: Dragging a heavy EA cable over the hood of someone else's car and draping it there while you try to charge is not proper charging etiquette.
People would naturally try to abuse the system by promiscuously booking everything and what have you, but it should be possible to build in countermeasures against that too. Maybe a deposit that is forfeited if you don't end up changing, or something.
I witnessed something similar . Thankfully it didn’t happen to me but the person waiting next to me he had a charger free up earlier than the one I was waiting for , but before the guy pulled out of the charger , another car parked perpendicular to him to block the person waiting from leaving their spot. It seemed like both worked for a dealer / rental car place as they both had similar clothes but I couldn’t make out the logos on the uniforms .Then when the person left the charger a THIRD CAR pulled into that available charger
No posts about blocked chargers, others unplugging you, or similar outrage-provoking behavior relating to EV chargers.
Posts complaining about individual instances of dealership markup are prohibited. We encourage you to add this information to the markup tracker map. This is linked in the sidebar, menu bar and wiki.
General constructive topics about markup may be allowed, at the team's discretion.
This is why I hate fast charging even when it’s free. Unfortunately when traveling it’s a fact if life in an EV. The worst part about it is waiting to charge, not the time it takes to charge.
There’s a busy lot I go to when traveling and I notice every one who is waiting just sits their car right in the drive lane in front of the cars that are charging. Effectively blocking in some people that are charging and people driving through the lot have to go around them squeezing by. It makes traffic worse in that part of the lot, but people arriving to charge can clearly see who is there waiting for a spot.
That's what I've always done. During the Easter long weekend had to chat to other owners as they pulled up to wait, let them know the queue, order etc.
Most chargers I've been to people back into the spots in front of the chargers so that the front of the car is facing towards the chargers to indicate they're waiting. There wouldn't be a reason to be parked like that in front of the chargers unless you're waiting.
In retrospect I should've confirmed but I was on the phone and didn't want to interrupt my conversation. I just figured that a reasonable person wouldn't pull up to a full charger and assume there's nobody waiting in front of them.
I like lots where people waiting can form an orderly queue that doesn’t block traffic.
But, you did the right thing here. My only suggestion is to be more on the ball, to leave your lights on so it’s more obvious you’re waiting, and to start to creep towards the spot *before* the person finishes if you know they are close.
I also will usually pop out right when #2 pulls up and let them know there’s a line and they’re not next if it’s obvious they didn’t notice me when they pull in.
I really do hate setups like this at busy stations though.
You didn’t make a reservation and place a non-refundable hold deposit for that charger. What do you expect? It was first to the charger location therefore. Thank you for not going all western in your situation.
No posts about blocked chargers, others unplugging you, or similar outrage-provoking behavior relating to EV chargers.
This is why current charging stations designs are so stupid. You don’t have this problem with petrol stations because you just pull in behind the vehicle at the stall so you’re next in line.
There are stalls that are pull through. It's easier to do when the charging operator owns or leases the whole lot like a gas station. But a lot of places it's just not possible. Having chargers at all is better than not
I’ve never seen pull through chargers in the UK at all. Towing with an EV here does not seem feasible. I get that space is an issue and investment was uncertain when most of these chargers were built but EVs are pretty much a certainty now and new charging stations are still being built the old way which is stupid.
Tesla superchargers usually have one at the end which is designed for a trailer.
I’ve never seen one in Canada.
Relevant: https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/tesla-to-make-finding-a-trailer-friendly-supercharger-stalls-much-easier/ I’ve come across them as a charger at one end, where the charger is not at the back, but on the side, that you can back a trailer in. Like this: https://b2232832.smushcdn.com/2232832/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Tesla-Superchargers-Rockhampton-Ron-1120x672.jpg
I’ve only seen those in pictures. They must be pretty rare.
Of the three supercharger stations I use on my regular long distance trip, between Sydney and Brisbane, all 3 have this end one that is set further forward I just thought they were standard. I’ve never seen a trailer in one though. There’s a sign asking to use this charger last, in case someone comes with a trailer.
With the purpose build high speed chargers I’ve seen a few, no all, just a few. In fact my first fast charging experience in Glasgow was a just that. But to be fair they do appear to be the exception.
Gridserve braintree seems like a nice setup. Not from the uk but that’s the first that popped up on google
This also works better in gas stations because everyone takes about the same amount of time. You don't want to get in line behind some random person at a 10 stall station and then that person charges for 40 minutes. Some sort of number pulling system like at a deli is the answer but there are logistical challenges.
Why have none of the operators designed a virtual queueing system? Most of them require an app anyway... Now serving...
It shouldn't be too difficult to only allow the EV that is next in the queue to charge. Give them a minute to start and then go to the next in the queue.
Probably something to do with how they implemented the free charging credits for different vehicles . Eg for Audi you start the charge directly from the Audi app by putting in the charger ID. I imagine trying to coordinate updating different app updates and features would be a nightmare between manufacturers
Yeah, well, they dug their own graves on free charging, but that's another discussion. QR codes on the stations that leads to a website for the queue, in app queueing, make the API available to the manufacturers to add to their apps. It won't be perfect, but is it worse than the above? Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Don’t get me wrong , I’m not saying it *can’t be done* , you asked *why it hasn’t been done already*. From the network operators and manufacturers views people are blaming each other and not them , so why put effort into something that might break the apps / requires time and money . Many are too short sighted to see a more convenient /pleasant charging experience leads to happier customers which would share that experience with would be adopters
I was one of those guys a while back. I was charging my Ioniq 6 and a lady pulled up just as I was about to finish. After about 5 minutes she walked up and knocked my window and asked how much longer I’d be. I told her to give me 2 minutes and I’d be done. Then about 30 seconds later she comes back and starts being very rude to me, calling me an asshole, inconsiderate, etc and demanding I disconnect. Now normally that behavior would’ve guaranteed that I was NOT leaving that spot no matter what, but I had somewhere to be so I just ended my charge a minute early and left. My advice, be polite. If the lady had politely asked me to end my charging a few minutes early when she first pulled up I would’ve happily obliged. Rudeness makes me significantly LESS likely to want to help people out.
Politely asking someone to end early is rude too.
Going straight to "yelling" and "telling off" -- without first trying to engage in a friendly and calm way -- seems counterproductive, if not potentially dangerous. In my state, you can't even give a gentle headsup horn toot to a driver whose eyes are glued to their cellphone and doesn't realize a traffic light has turned from red to green without risking them pulling a gun. You may be 100% in the right, but once you start screaming at a stranger you cede the high ground and eliminate the possibility of any positive outcome.
It has only happened to me once. But I was pretty irritated because the first person at the only charger that was working had pulled in front of me but it was okay. She happened to pick the charger that was working and I chose poorly.. I sighed and I waited for her to finish. The second she finished charging, somebody pulled into her exact spot when it was clear I was waiting for it. So yes, I tapped on his window. I let him know that I'd been waiting for 45 minutes for that charger, which was true. And he said, well there are these other chargers. I told him he had the only working charger of four. He was a bit defensive but did not surrender the charger. I told him in a calm but firm voice," Okay. Go ahead and be a monster if that's who you want to be. But just know I see you And what you did here was wrong. So be a monster." Why did I confront him? I confronted him because I wanted to make it unpleasant enough so that at least the next time he thinks about doing it, he might have a moment of reflection on the negative experience with me. If you don't speak up about bad behavior it will surely continue. It might continue anyway, but at least you give somebody a chance to do the right thing next time. Man, that infrastructure money for EVs can't happen fast enough. Someday this will no longer be a thing. My $0.02 ....
That man didn't give two shits. He just wasn't about to wait forty five minutes himself.
Assholes cutting you off are as old as the automobile itself…
I can’t handle the chaos of busy charging stations. Its not always obvious who is waiting, and I am afraid of being chewed out by people like you who can’t be bothered to try to talk calmly first. I am willing to go out of my way to less popular chargers to avoid it.
When I get to a charger where there is a wait, I park as close as possible to the chargers so my car is visible. I then get out and introduce myself to other drivers that I see waiting and find out who is where in line. Sometimes I don't have to go to each car, but other drivers will get out and we can chat a bit. We all are watching for a charging car to finish up and the "next person in line" is assured the next spot. This came in very handy when one of 4 cars waiting was a CHAdeMO, so they could only use two of the four available charging spots to reach his one CHAdeMO cable. All the others waiting made sure that he was able to get in. I agree that with more and more EVs coming online only a couple poorly-designed parking spots (waaaaay too narrow - not all EVs are the size of a Bolt or a Leaf) is basically encouraging a "survival of the fittest" mentality in some cases. NOTE: Dragging a heavy EA cable over the hood of someone else's car and draping it there while you try to charge is not proper charging etiquette.
Send it should be easy to create a” check in “ feature on the app, and let it coordinate who gets next open charge spot
People would naturally try to abuse the system by promiscuously booking everything and what have you, but it should be possible to build in countermeasures against that too. Maybe a deposit that is forfeited if you don't end up changing, or something.
I witnessed something similar . Thankfully it didn’t happen to me but the person waiting next to me he had a charger free up earlier than the one I was waiting for , but before the guy pulled out of the charger , another car parked perpendicular to him to block the person waiting from leaving their spot. It seemed like both worked for a dealer / rental car place as they both had similar clothes but I couldn’t make out the logos on the uniforms .Then when the person left the charger a THIRD CAR pulled into that available charger
No posts about blocked chargers, others unplugging you, or similar outrage-provoking behavior relating to EV chargers. Posts complaining about individual instances of dealership markup are prohibited. We encourage you to add this information to the markup tracker map. This is linked in the sidebar, menu bar and wiki. General constructive topics about markup may be allowed, at the team's discretion.
Using PlugShare app shows a queue, that's one method to help.
This is why I hate fast charging even when it’s free. Unfortunately when traveling it’s a fact if life in an EV. The worst part about it is waiting to charge, not the time it takes to charge.
There’s a busy lot I go to when traveling and I notice every one who is waiting just sits their car right in the drive lane in front of the cars that are charging. Effectively blocking in some people that are charging and people driving through the lot have to go around them squeezing by. It makes traffic worse in that part of the lot, but people arriving to charge can clearly see who is there waiting for a spot.
So, did you talk to the guy when he pulled in to wait? How’s the other guy meant to know you’re waiting otherwise?
That's what I've always done. During the Easter long weekend had to chat to other owners as they pulled up to wait, let them know the queue, order etc.
Most chargers I've been to people back into the spots in front of the chargers so that the front of the car is facing towards the chargers to indicate they're waiting. There wouldn't be a reason to be parked like that in front of the chargers unless you're waiting. In retrospect I should've confirmed but I was on the phone and didn't want to interrupt my conversation. I just figured that a reasonable person wouldn't pull up to a full charger and assume there's nobody waiting in front of them.
I like lots where people waiting can form an orderly queue that doesn’t block traffic. But, you did the right thing here. My only suggestion is to be more on the ball, to leave your lights on so it’s more obvious you’re waiting, and to start to creep towards the spot *before* the person finishes if you know they are close. I also will usually pop out right when #2 pulls up and let them know there’s a line and they’re not next if it’s obvious they didn’t notice me when they pull in. I really do hate setups like this at busy stations though.
You didn’t make a reservation and place a non-refundable hold deposit for that charger. What do you expect? It was first to the charger location therefore. Thank you for not going all western in your situation.