> With a gas pump, you need to stay with the car while it's charging.
Is that a realistic concern for anyone? The "charging" process at a gas pump takes around 1 minute (in Europe gas pumps have ~50 l/min flow rate, in the US it's 10 gal/min). At best you can get a battery recharge in 20min but more realistically today over 30min for 80% charge if the charging station hasn't reached peak charging capacity and starts lowering charging speeds for everyone.
Usually the longest wait is during holiday season where at the middle of the highway everyone needs to fill up around the same time/place and queues form. This is not something EV tech can help with intrinsically, if you don't wait today it's because there aren't enough EVs on the road.
Once most cars on the road are EVs wouldn't you have the exact same issue with queuing at busy charging station in holiday season? This will be exacerbated by the fact that charging takes longer than 1min, and too many cars charging at the same time would most likely lead to a drop in the overall charging rate of all cars in the station (it's unlikely charging station will support high-speed on all chargers simultaneously).
The way we drive and refuel now revolve around the concept of the quick refill gas pump. We need to adjust our expectations, driving style/planning/habits, and technology - induction charging roads, "third rails", things that address any shortcomings of EVs, not just adapting old solutions to new problems.
We were driving through Northern Ontario for most of the trip, so the busiest we ever saw a supercharger was 3/8 stalls. Most of the time we were the only car using a charger. The car rarely got below 50% because the kids always asked to use the bathroom or get a snack before the car needed a charge.
> We need to adjust our expectations, driving style/planning/habits
Before I was married, I had a diesel car with a 1000km range. I made that 3000km trip in 36 hours total, which I never could have done with an EV car. Driving that far that quickly by myself without stopping to rest more was reckless and stupid, so not being able to do so is a significant side benefit.
Are there penalties for staying on the charger longer than required? My concern with a half hour required time to charge is that people will go to "get a quick bite" and leave their car at the station. The 5 minute run in to pee at the gas station could become a half hour "the restaurant was busy" addition.
I have seen chargers that tax you per kWh and per minute and for the parking spot and sometimes also another per charge fee. So I have plugged into a charger that taxed ~€1.5 for plugging in, €0.5/kWh for charging plus another €0.05/min after 2h, and €2/h for parking.
It's up to the operator. When cars are smart enough they might even disconnect after a preprogrammed charge and move to a waiting area.
Is that a realistic concern for anyone? The "charging" process at a gas pump takes around 1 minute (in Europe gas pumps have ~50 l/min flow rate, in the US it's 10 gal/min). At best you can get a battery recharge in 20min but more realistically today over 30min for 80% charge if the charging station hasn't reached peak charging capacity and starts lowering charging speeds for everyone.
Usually the longest wait is during holiday season where at the middle of the highway everyone needs to fill up around the same time/place and queues form. This is not something EV tech can help with intrinsically, if you don't wait today it's because there aren't enough EVs on the road.
Once most cars on the road are EVs wouldn't you have the exact same issue with queuing at busy charging station in holiday season? This will be exacerbated by the fact that charging takes longer than 1min, and too many cars charging at the same time would most likely lead to a drop in the overall charging rate of all cars in the station (it's unlikely charging station will support high-speed on all chargers simultaneously).
The way we drive and refuel now revolve around the concept of the quick refill gas pump. We need to adjust our expectations, driving style/planning/habits, and technology - induction charging roads, "third rails", things that address any shortcomings of EVs, not just adapting old solutions to new problems.