I cannot
emphasize enough the frustration EV drivers experience with non
Tesla DC fast charging, especially lower income who drive earlier
models that can only afford models whose batteries only have a low
range of miles. Recently while charging I chatted with a driver who
owned one of the first Leafs who told me he doesn't have the miles
to experience a non-functioning charger and has spent hours on the
phone with the company to get the charge to initiate. “I
don’t regret driving an EV, but the chargers are a
nightmare.”
Recently, I tried
to help an older couple get a charge initiated for their brand new
Ford Mach E. We were outside a Walmart in Santa Rosa baking in the
sun. The husband had tried repeatedly to get the charger to start.
He tried his app, he tried a credit card, and he tried plugging in
again and again to get the machine to give him the miles he needed
to get home after a trip to the wine country. He asked his wife to
help and then grew frustrated and began to yell at her. I tried
letting them use my app, but nothing worked.
Here was a couple
trying to do the right thing by driving a car with zero emissions
to fight climate change and air pollution. People doing the right
thing shouldn’t have to suffer because our DCFC rollout
causes doesn’t function. I have yet to meet an EV driver who
isn’t angry and 20% go back to gas cars because of
this.
We have to have
enforceable standards for any EVSE getting public and federal
dollars. This means a mandatory escrow account with funds devoted
to maintenance so the companies can’t ignore this critical
component; mandatory reporting of data with a 97% uptime
requirement. The Air Resource Board and the California Energy
Commission need to commit to funding a unit charged with holding
companies accountable.
I recently drove
to Santa Cruz and saw on my plug share app a fast charger I needed
to get enough miles to reach my destination. The winding hills took
me by surprise and quickly depleted my miles. When I got to the
fast charger both wouldn’t start with either of my two credit
cards or my app. I was down to thirty miles and that is a horrible
feeling I have experienced several times because of broken or
malfunctioning chargers. Luckily I could drive to another location
with a charger that worked.
We cannot go on
like this and cannot expect an equitable transition to zero
emission vehicles if this isn’t immediately fixed. Residents
living in apartments or other Multi Unit Dwelling have no other
option and depend on fast charging to work. Asking them to suffer
from a dysfunctional system while homeowners have the luxury of
charging at home isn’t just or fair. Companies need to fix
their existing system before they receive any additional funding
and then the funding provided must mandate a worry free
infrastructure. Anything less is a recipe for a return to gas cars
and allowing climate change and air pollution to destroy our state.
This can be done and I fully expect it will be.
Respectfully,
Susannah
Saunders
Founder of
Indivisible Ross Valley