Would the Lack of Basic Communication, Cooperation and Common Sense Put a Dampener on The Roll-Out of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations?

There has been a push for greener vehicles over recent decades, and more recently BMW launched its range of iPerformance Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs); which would ultimately rely on an island-wide network of charging points, installed to supplement owner-installed home-based charging stations.

While all the intent is good, a lack of proper communication and what I would see as common sense downstream to those on the ground could otherwise mar what otherwise would have been a near-clockwork process of plugging-in at public charging stations.

My own experience brings me to a freshly installed EV charging station in town. Well yes I am griping, but I do see a point to be made!

Looking to kill two birds with one stone, one being getting my fill of some good Indonesian food for lunch (I will not mention names, but the food is really good), and the second, having my test car charged at the same time.

To serve you better, we have decided to lock you out!

Upon locating the lot with the charging point in a multi-story carpark, I was greeted by a bollard blocking my entry to the lot, with a sign affixed on the wall referring me to the building’s management for access to the lot. Meaning that I had to make a round each time a car came up to the same level in the carpark while waiting for someone from building management to open up the lot for use.

On further querying, it came evident that it was building management’s decision to keep the two lots cordoned, only to be unlocked upon request.

Its not like a washing machine, where you simply turn it off after you use it

Thinking all my troubles are over, it soon dawned on me like a slap in the face, the charging unit was shut off at the mains. It is crucial that this is left on, in order for service provider Greenlots to “communicate” with the charging unit. Perhaps this too could also be presumed again to be a building management decision?

The wait felt like an eternity for the charge that never was

So charging is a no-go, for the day, with the poor guy from the service provider on the other end of the line trying to do service recovery on something which is not even his fault. His best solution was for the user to drive over to another location where a charging point would be located. Or leave the car docked in for charging, as he would try to get things working again (which eventually he could not).

While my experience leaves much to be desired, we can see that not only efforts from companies trying to implement have to work, but on the ground, those who facilitate have to do their part.

Locked up agian after use!

I shudder to think, what if it were a full EV?

So it is not so much the case of faulty infrastructure which would be a dampener in the path of electrification, but possibly one caused by “faulty” people?

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