Posted on 06/30/2011 8:31:18 AM PDT by N. Theknow
Tampa Bay's first electric car station
Updated: Thursday, 30 Jun 2011, 7:14 AM EDT Published : Thursday, 30 Jun 2011, 7:14 AM EDT
TAMPA - Call it one small step toward making gas pumps a thing of the past.
On Thursday, AAA Club South unveiled the first of 100 electric car charging stations at its offices in Palm Harbor and Westshore.
The station was installed at the Westshore office, where FOX 13’s Jen Epstein spoke with AAA official Jessica Brady, and another is set to open in Palm Harbor in July.
"You pull up, plug it in, push a button and you're good to go," she said. "
VIDEO: Watch Brady explain how the stations work
A charging session should take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
People can charge their electric cars for free at the stations between 6:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. for the first year. That, however, will change eventually.
It’s part of a $37 million installation initiative by ChargePoint America that aims to install 4,600 electric car stations across the country by October.
Charging is free - for now.
Afterwards the studio hosts were at a loss as to how many electric cars are in the Tampa Bay area, as none of them had seen any.
Too bad not enough people have JOBS so they can buy one of these vehicles to use the free service, either...
My family was there two weeks ago on vacation - we used to love going to Busch Gardens...now the area around is really running down...but, there were NO Lines at any rides when they were there (normally lines run 1-2 hours long this time of year)...
Who is paying for the electricity?
How much does it cost per charge?
30 minutes to an hour charge time. Yeah, that will work.
If your fourth or fifth on line good luck, get a room.
Wow! 30 minutes to an hour! I know I have that kind of time to charge my car that drive like what? 40 miles on a single charge?
Sure, this is going to go over BIG TIME.
From the people that brought you "Instant Grits" - Americans are not going to wait.
What I'm thinking is how I could get some of this magical free electricity, maybe a long extension cord and pay a homeless guy to push the button once an hour.
Just more money down the drain in a worthless enterprise.
I figure that by the time the millions of charging stations are built, there will be plentiful oil, an alternate fuel, or the power grids will fail.
AAA is paying for the charge for now. I would bet that when the daily rate of electrics exceeds 5 or more they will stop that.
Not sure what a Class B charging station is. First I ever heard of one. Spokesperson from AAA says it is meant to be only a "top off" charge.
Whatever that means. At least with knowing where charging stations are, gullible owners of these "toys" (they run on batteries, so that is what they are; toys) will be able to tell the tow truck where to take them from I-4, I-75, I-275, and, God forbid, the Sunshine Skyway bridge or any of the other bay bridges.
The ONLY way electric cars will ever be viable is if the battery packs are standardized and made easily removable/replaceable. In theory, a driver could pull into to a station, swap out the old pack, swap in a new one, pay, and be on his way in the same amount of time it would take to fill up a gas tank.
Oil is cheap and replenisable, always has been & always will be.
"A charging session should take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour."
Sheesh...the dumbest people in this nation are local TV news reporters and producers. The stupid producer wrote the script, and dim-bulb Jen Epstein read it without batting an eye. Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" comes to mind..."Well, I coulda been an actor, but I wound up here. I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear."
Hey Jen and Jen's producer (whatever your name is), you dual brain stems, do you realize just how idiotic it is to say that charging stations, that take 30 minutes to an hour to fully charge a Chevy Volt, are going to "soon" replace gas stations, where I can completely fill my F-150 in less than five minutes? Are y'all capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time?
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
After a little research....
ChargePoint America is a company started up with money from....wait for it.....The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the Department of Energy
And...
It is owned by Coulomb Technologies out of California......And....Richard Lowenthal is the Founder, Chief Technical Officer and sits on the Board of Directors....
AND.....he is listed as a donor to Barbara Boxer and Barack Obama....in 2008.
Where else can you give a $1,000 donation and get $37,000,000 in return?
HA...thanks. Should have known.
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