We don't need dedicated charging stations for EV's
Nobody wants/has to charge 20 minutes at a glorified truck stop
Whether you like it or not, we’re all going to drive electric cars in the future. And whether you like it or not, that means lugging a big rechargeable battery around that takes ages to recharge. And whether you like it or not, that means you’ll be stuck charging your car for at least 20 minutes instead of refueling in under 5 minutes.
So the great minds of the world have started finding solutions to this problem. It seems to be to add stuff to regular fuel stations. Since you have 20 minutes or more to spend, why not exercise, walk the dog, play with your kids, read a book, drink a coffee, watch a movie, have a business meeting, or do something else productive.
Sounds like a good idea, right? So charging stations have to enable that in the future. It seems like we’re getting huge stations where we can do all that. All while charging our car along the high way.
That’s cute, but it’s wrong. So wrong.
Why? Because we’re still thinking about electric cars the way we’re thinking about gas powered cars. But when is the last time you left your home with a 100% filled up tank? That’s never happened. Or when have you left the shopping mall with a 100% filled up tank? And the movie theatre or a café, or the gym, or, or, or. I can keep going.
I think you already know what I’m getting at.
We should not be thinking about electric cars as cars we need to recharge while on the road. Or as cars that need charging at a specific place that has been made specially to facilitate that.
We need to see that electricity is everywhere, unlike gasoline. Which means that you can theoretically charge everywhere you park your electric car. You don’t need to go somewhere to fill up a tank with gas, you can charge everywhere you like. All you need to do is plug in.
So that’s what we should be focussing on, getting destinations fitted with multiple chargers so everyone can charge there. While you’re doing the stuff you already planned on doing.
It’s a win-win situation. The ‘hassle’ of charging and the long times it takes, as the media reports on so often, will be a thing of the past when we start thinking of destinations as charging stations, not the other way around. That just creates extra ‘hassle’.
Do you agree, or not? I want to know your point of view. Let me know!