City buses ICE EA station?

[WSea]

Rolled up to the Anderson, CA EA station and thought City buses were ICE'g it. Then wondered why City buses were charging at EA vs. havinbg their own infrastructure. Turns out these buses were on a delivery trip to WA State. Unfortunately they needed 100% charge to get to next charge location.
I'm parked in the only open charger but it wasn't working. The last charger was occupied by an ID.4 who was insistant on charging to 100% despite knowing I was waiting and the buses needed atleast another 2 hours of charging.
Super nice guys driving the buses. Heads up- they have many more future bus delivery trips and need to stop at each EA charger along the route.

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[COdogman]

That’s pretty cool. Inconvenient for everyone else, but glad to see electric buses hitting the streets!

 

[WSea]

That’s pretty cool. Inconvenient for everyone else, but glad to see electric buses hitting the streets!

According to one of the drivers they have 5 battery packs and 2 charging ports. Approx. range of 180 miles. Can be optioned with 7 packs.
Said his last delivery was a nightmare in Portland, OR with freezing rain. Did a serious slide in a parking lot headed to charger. Charger was also reduce to 33kwh. EA timed out after something like 8-9 hours and so did his daily time on 'road' so he had to get a motel.

 

[COdogman]

According to one of the drivers they have 5 battery packs and 2 charging ports. Approx. range of 180 miles. Can be optioned with 7 packs.
Said his last delivery was a nightmare in Portland, OR with freezing rain. Did a serious slide in a parking lot headed to charger. Charger was also reduce to 33kwh. EA timed out after something like 8-9 hours and so did his daily time on 'road' so he had to get a motel.

That’s an interesting situation. Once they arrive at WSU they will probably never leave the campus. Just getting them there is the hardest part. Are those manufactured near there? That can’t be a practical delivery method if their final destination was far away. I’m glad I don’t have that guy’s job.

 

[WSea]

That’s an interesting situation. Once they arrive at WSU they will probably never leave the campus. Just getting them there is the hardest part. Are those manufactured near there? That can’t be a practical delivery method if their final destination was far away. I’m glad I don’t have that guy’s job.

Actually Everett, WA with more deliveries to come

 

[R1Sky Business]

Rolled up to the Anderson, CA EA station and thought City buses were ICE'g it. Then wondered why City buses were charging at EA vs. havinbg their own infrastructure. Turns out these buses were on a delivery trip to WA State. Unfortunately they needed 100% charge to get to next charge location.
I'm parked in the only open charger but it wasn't working. The last charger was occupied by an ID.4 who was insistant on charging to 100% despite knowing I was waiting and the buses needed atleast another 2 hours of charging.
Super nice guys driving the buses. Heads up- they have many more future bus delivery trips and need to stop at each EA charger along the route.

ID4s always fill up to 100

 

[R1Sky Business]

According to one of the drivers they have 5 battery packs and 2 charging ports. Approx. range of 180 miles. Can be optioned with 7 packs.
Said his last delivery was a nightmare in Portland, OR with freezing rain. Did a serious slide in a parking lot headed to charger. Charger was also reduce to 33kwh. EA timed out after something like 8-9 hours and so did his daily time on 'road' so he had to get a motel.

Early adopter

 

[NY_Rob]

Awesome... NYC could use a couple hundred of those buses.. the current ICE buses are disgusting, loud, polluting dinosaurs.

Anyone know where these buses are made? Hopefully in NA, not China...

 

[NY_Rob]

ID4s always fill up to 100

You know... you're not the first to suggest that ?

 

[R1Sky Business]

You know... you're not the first to suggest that ?

Probably a lack of education on charging, battery needs and maybe even charger etiquette

 

[NY_Rob]

Probably a lack of education on charging, battery needs and maybe even charger etiquette

Maybe one day EA will be forced to impose time or minimum current draw limits if it becomes too widespread?

 

[mindstormsguy]

Maybe one day EA will be forced to impose time or minimum current draw limits if it becomes too widespread?

Minimum current draw would kinda suck if you really need the extra charge to get where you’re going. When I’ve towed with my R1T, I’ve definitely hung out at chargers for a lot longer that I normally would, because I had to.

I do think the problem is the free charging that’s been given away though. If the VW drivers were paying 30-40 cents per kWh instead of 0, they’d probably be more inclined to charge at home.

There was a similar problem in BC a few years back, which really sucked when I was visiting. BC Hydro had set up a bunch of 50kW DCFCs all over the province, but they were all free. And most installs were only a single pedestal. So I was driving all around the Vancouver area trying to find charging for my Bolt so I could get back home, but every single one was blocked by a Tesla (even though there were tons of Superchargers around) or PHEVs. Why? Because they were free.

They’re not free anymore, and now they’re not blocked nearly as often. It’s just supply and demand. If there’s a limited resource (DCFC), the price needs to go up so that those who really want to use it can pay to do so.

 

[R1Sky Business]

Maybe one day EA will be forced to impose time or minimum current draw limits if it becomes too widespread?

Probably already in the works

 

[R1Sky Business]

Minimum current draw would kinda suck if you really need the extra charge to get where you’re going. When I’ve towed with my R1T, I’ve definitely hung out at chargers for a lot longer that I normally would, because I had to.

I do think the problem is the free charging that’s been given away though. If the VW drivers were paying 30-40 cents per kWh instead of 0, they’d probably be more inclined to charge at home.

There was a similar problem in BC a few years back, which really sucked when I was visiting. BC Hydro had set up a bunch of 50kW DCFCs all over the province, but they were all free. And most installs were only a single pedestal. So I was driving all around the Vancouver area trying to find charging for my Bolt so I could get back home, but every single one was blocked by a Tesla (even though there were tons of Superchargers around) or PHEVs. Why? Because they were free.

They’re not free anymore, and now they’re not blocked nearly as often. It’s just supply and demand. If there’s a limited resource (DCFC), the price needs to go up so that those who really want to use it can pay to do so.

What's the EA id4 free program? KW hrs or time limit?

 

[NY_Rob]

Probably already in the works

Yeah, you know "a few bad actors..." ruins it for all of us.

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