Posted on 01/20/2014 8:15:52 PM PST by RansomOttawa
An increasing number of electric-vehicle driving employees at Silicon Valley companies are finding it hard to access car-charging stations at work, creating incidents of "charge rage" among drivers.
Installation of electric vehicle charging ports at some companies has not kept pace with soaring demand, creating thorny etiquette issues in the workplace, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer for German software company SAP, says the company's 16 charging stations are now not nearly enough for the 61 employees who drive electric vehicles.
Graf says cars are getting unplugged while charging, creating animosity between employees. A charge can take as little as 30 minutes.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
I'm curious, since there aren't enough EVs around here to make this an issue yet. Are these companies providing their employees' cars with free electricity, or is this something the drivers would typically have to pay for?
It’s probably promoted as a perq at the companies. As to dealing with the “rage”, the best solution would be to spend a few bucks to have an “app” written, so that when your car is done, it pings you to let the next person plug in, and also manages the queue. When you get to work in the morning, you “check in” a la “Foursquare”, and the app tracks you on a first-come/first-serve basis, and routes each car to the first available station (since different EVs will have different charge times). You could even put in a function to allow you to charge to a certain level, rather than a full charge, to minimize wait time.
My company in Silicon Valley installed several chargers and I’ve wondered the same thing. This was never discussed when they were unveiled with great fanfare. Looking at the charging stations, I don’t see any way for users to swipe a credit card or otherwise identify themselves.
This plight of the Metrosexuals shall not go unnoticed!
Available charging stations should be a fundamental right for Pajama Boys everywhere!
I’m sure the 9th Circus will find it in the Constitution somewhere.
Just wait for the lawsuits to fly when a person gets crushed under the wheels of a C-Max moving 0.0001 mph.
I've never even seen an electric car. I had no idea this was going on anywhere.
Cube tap
Saw a cmax hooked up to a charging station at work, walking in the other day. I noticed there are about eight or so stations around about. Only that one in use though. I suspect folks ride in at the limit of the vehicle’s range and have to recharge at work to get home. You can see how unplugging a charger might cause some animosity.
I don’t believe this. There are about 10 times as many charging stations than are needed.
Wouldn’t you check on availability of chargers before buying an electric car? I can see why, if the electricity is free there, one would prefer charging at work. (It’s all a gimmick anyway.)
Some brutal slap fights have broken out reportedly.
Fixed.
61 vehicles / 16 charging stations ~ 4 vehicles per charging station
2 hours each
8 -10
10 - 12
13 - 15
15 - 17
Yess...so you could spend part of the workday jockeying your car around and get paid for it....it would be like an extra coffee break for anyone driving an EV...Brilliant idea!
First world problem
And the quote to buy land to double the size of all parking lots
The owners prolly bill out at $200 hour.
You will need a car jockey with a ring full of Car keys.
I wonder if George Costanza is interested in a west coast job
Perhaps the 9th Circuit Court will order people to open up their homes to allow passing Pajama Boys to charge their vehicles.
After all, since they ignore the 2A they might as well ignore the 4A too.
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