As EVs continue their quest for world domination, there’s something still very broken about charging an electric car or bike. I’m not talking about chargers that are broken or just don’t punch out their advertised numbers, though that’s a problem, too. I’m also not talking about how rural areas still get the short stick on decent charging for now. Instead, it’s something even more simple than that. EV chargers still don’t give you easy ways to pay.
In today’s The Morning Dump, Thomas wrote about how dynamic pricing can become a larger thing in EV charging. Some folks are concerned that such could turn into price gouging and end up making public charging even worse for the people who have to do it. Thomas ended the TMD by asking how you would change public charging.
I saw a lot of comments agreeing with one thing: There should be a way to pay by card right there at the charger. You can already do this with gas pumps, vending machines, and self-checkouts. It’s a proven technology! There’s no need for charge providers to force you to have dozens of charging apps on your phone just to juice up a car. Tesla owners essentially use their cars as a form of payment. They just plug in, charge, and get charged. That’s great, but there should still be the option to pay with a card, as COTD winner Aaron points out:
Without a mandated standard, “car as payment device” is another major failure point. One of the reason the Tesla system works so well (for now) is because it’s Tesla’s vehicles talking to Tesla’s chargers. It’s consistent and the same. Once you start introducing more OEMs and charge providers into the mix, there’s more opportunity for miscommunications – and I doubt SAE will step in and set a standard for payment processing anytime soon.
Honestly, I think a card reader on the charger is the option with fewer failure points. It’s proven tech. Gas pumps, vending machines, etc. have been using the tech for decades. Integrations between credit cards (and the phone-based wallets like Apple Pay, GPay, etc) are well established and understood by consumers. It totally negates the need for a charge network-specific app.
For our next nomination, we have Canopysaurus, who seems to get a lot of COTD noms, for this one-liner about David’s Easter Jeep Safari project:
No better time for a resurrection than Easter.
I think Canopysaurus knows the kind of humor I like. Keep it up! We’ll finish with A. Barth, who wants you to know the sounds of a glorious two-stroke engine:
Glad you’re okay! Aside from the soreness. ????
That was an excellent read. I really appreciate the history piece.
There’s basically nothing at the very bottom end of the throttle, then the power comes on like a sledgehammer.
Two-strokes (aka two-smokes) are part of the soundtrack of my youth. I love the sounds they make at the various stages.
startup: brr-ING-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding
idle: ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a
taking off: brrrrrRRRRaaaaaaAAAAAP!
come get some: BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP! BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!
Here, just listen to this:
Oh, and this too, for good measure.
Before we depart for the weekend, you should know that I will be taking a sort of vacation next week. Even though I’ve been married for over a year, Sheryl and I have yet to have a real honeymoon. We tried to have one in early December last year, but she worked through the whole thing. So, we’re hitting the road and driving to the Grand Canyon via Route 66. You might see a couple of posts to help the gang out, but otherwise, you’ll see me a little over a week from now! Have a great weekend.
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