Idle fee hate

[CANCERDOC]

The app tells you when the vehicle is done charging and even warns you of the grace period. No excuses here.

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[blturner]

This is similar to meters causing turnover when busy - but not needing to feed the meter evenings or weekends.

There is no reason the app can’t “see” what is going on at the entire station and adjust as necessary - like the rules on those parking meters. Unfortunately, they do not and idle fees apply even if 5 other chargers are empty for 8 hours.

Unless I read this thread - I would have had no idea about idle fees… 10 min 60 min whatever. Not everyone becomes an expert - or wants to.

And yeah - as much as I love my Rivian(s), there are plenty of times that taking the ol’ ICE is just plain more convenient - no matter how many yeah buts we all come up with.

Thank you for this. Just knowing that there is at least 1 other person that sees it the way I do is reassuring. I knew that I was making a flame bait post. This is an EV adoption issue. The amount that you have to learn to use public charging well is excessive. As an early adopter I expect these things, and when it sucks I feel that discussing is part of what needs to happen.

There was no one else at the charger when I plugged in at 5:40AM when I plugged in and there was no one at 8AM when I unplugged. This is Hays, KS not NYC. No one was waiting when the app notified me. I was not being rude to anyone. What would have been rude was to tell my customer that was having a computer emergency to wait while I went and made an inanimate object happy.

 

[Dark-Fx]

What would have been rude was to tell my customer that was having a computer emergency to wait while I went and made an inanimate object happy.

Maybe your customer has an EV and would be more upset about you leaving your vehicle unattended on a DC charger while it was full for over an hour.

 

[COdogman]

Thank you for this. Just knowing that there is at least 1 other person that sees it the way I do is reassuring. I knew that I was making a flame bait post. This is an EV adoption issue. The amount that you have to learn to use public charging well is excessive. As an early adopter I expect these things, and when it sucks I feel that discussing is part of what needs to happen.

There was no one else at the charger when I plugged in at 5:40AM when I plugged in and there was no one at 8AM when I unplugged. This is Hays, KS not NYC. No one was waiting when the app notified me. I was not being rude to anyone. What would have been rude was to tell my customer that was having a computer emergency to wait while I went and made an inanimate object happy.

No one in this thread has "flamed" you, unless you consider being reminded that the display on the charger and the app both show the idle fee as being "flamed"?

I agree there is nothing wrong with discussing it. I simply disagree that having confusing rules about whether others are charging or charged while your EV was plugged in is easier to understand for those new to EVs vs a very simple you have 10 mins after your charge before idle fees start.

Learning about common charging rules and etiquette is something every EV owner has to do. Just like I had to learn about weird gas pump rules in NJ by hopping out of my car and grabbing the pump like I had in every other state I visited.

 

[KBabione]

Learning about common charging rules and etiquette is something every EV owner has to do. Just like I had to learn about weird gas pump rules in NJ by hopping out of my car and grabbing the pump like I had in every other state I visited.

LOL - My girls will do whatever they can to avoid getting gas in NJ because "it just feels weird to have someone pump it for me." I was really (honestly) afraid that the first time I pulled up at an EV charger in NJ that there would be an attendant to was required, by law, to plug it in! It may sound stupid, but it wouldn't have surprised me...

 

[COdogman]

LOL - My girls will do whatever they can to avoid getting gas in NJ because "it just feels weird to have someone pump it for me." I was really (honestly) afraid that the first time I pulled up at an EV charger in NJ that there would be an attendant to was required, by law, to plug it in! It may sound stupid, but it wouldn't have surprised me...

It is such a weird law. And now that OR has gotten rid of their version, NJ is the only state doing this!

 

[KBabione]

AND gas is always cheaper in NJ than in PA! It's nuts! On the flip side, we have friends in NJ whose daughter is going to school in PA and she had to be taught (at age 20) how to pump gas! Naturally, she hates it - "My hands always stink after doing it."

 

[SwaziCAR]

From here on out, I guess I'll just leave my gas-powered Subaru at seemingly unused gas pumps; that wouldn't be "rude," right?

 

[JohnB R1T]

Texas is not heavily unionized. Back in 1975 I worked in a bank in downtown Austin that was building a new tower next to the existing bank. It was nearly complete. The parking garage was available to the construction crew (but not bank workers). I had a white 4x4 step-side F-150 with skinny tires. I bought a white hard hat and a clip board. It looked very official with my coat and tie. Nobody questioned me parking there every day. A lot of people called me "sir" (amusing to a 24 year old).

Back to the story, even though the self-service elevators were functional, being a union construction job, they installed an operator in each elevator to punch the buttons for you.

As was the case with the crane operators and the guys who ran the construction lifts that went up the side of the building, these people had a different lunch hour. Thus, for an hour a day, the elevators were locked out and no work was performed that required traveling between two floors. Likewise, for an hour a day, the operators had nothing to do because everybody was at lunch.

I suspect there's some correlation between this law and unions in NJ.

 

[JohnB R1T]

From here on out, I guess I'll just leave my gas-powered Subaru at seemingly unused gas pumps; that wouldn't be "rude," right?

If you've ever been in a Bucc-ee's you know that it's a God-given right to leave your vehicle parked at the gas pump while making a lunch/potty run through 35,000 sq ft of c-store. Wars have been fought over less

 

[thrill]

…Tesla does it differently, but they charge more when a station is busy, which is worse IMO because whether or not you're charging only what you need, the station is still charging you a premium rate. I think the idle fee is the fairest way to handle the situation, as moving your car when charging is completed is 100% under your control.

Do you mean the rate is dynamic after plugging in, instead of being fixed at the moment of initiation? Seems sketchy.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Do you mean the rate is dynamic after plugging in, instead of being fixed at the moment of initiation? Seems sketchy.

No, I don't think it changes while you're charging. I think it can change for the 8th person out of 10 chargers in use vs if only 3 or 4 people were charging. Once you initiate a session it's at the rate it tells you, but the person who comes after you, assuming more chargers are being simultaneously used, would pay a higher rate upon their initiation.

I could be wrong on that though, I have no first hand knowledge of this and only heard others describing it.

 

[blturner]

No one in this thread has "flamed" you, unless you consider being reminded that the display on the charger and the app both show the idle fee as being "flamed"?

Actually you're right. The comments have been pretty tame compared to what I was prepared for and have seen on other forums. I hope someday there will be chargers at every parking space that any EV could want.

 

[Seano]

Not everyone can READ, you mean. If you plug in without looking at the pricing information, that's entirely, 100% a you problem.
Can't remember the last time I looked at the price or gas or the price or milk, to be honest. Of course its a "you" problem - doesn't mean know it

 

[Seano]

Thank you for this. Just knowing that there is at least 1 other person that sees it the way I do is reassuring. I knew that I was making a flame bait post. This is an EV adoption issue. The amount that you have to learn to use public charging well is excessive. As an early adopter I expect these things, and when it sucks I feel that discussing is part of what needs to happen.

There was no one else at the charger when I plugged in at 5:40AM when I plugged in and there was no one at 8AM when I unplugged. This is Hays, KS not NYC. No one was waiting when the app notified me. I was not being rude to anyone. What would have been rude was to tell my customer that was having a computer emergency to wait while I went and made an inanimate object happy.

Yeah, I'm chuckling with just how many are just dancing on your grave on this.

Dollars to donuts a good majority of "those are the rules, deal with its" don't readily admit to speeding if pulled over. "Yes, officer, I was speeding and well aware that a fine is applicable so go ahead and write my ticket". Or, perhaps those folks never do speed?

Fueling cars has been integrated into our lives and we're at the bottom of the curve for charging right now (in general terms - yes, there are plenty who know everything about it). I remember when "service stations" didn't allow drivers to pump gas. Then, some states allowed it and drivers' from other states would just sit at the pumps waiting for a non-existent attendant. Some know there are different octanes and that diesel and gas don't mix (and some don't). We learn over time how much driving affects the gauge and just how low you can go. Some know you **generally** shouldn't drive fuel injected dry, while others don't. Point is a life time of fueling cars vs just under 2 years of electric ownership means a lot of this isn't reflexive yet.

I got hit over the weekend: free charging for referrals is tied to VIN, not account. RTFM, I guess!

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