EV parking etiquette

David in TN

David in TN

Well-Known Member
Yesterday, I took family members to the local (Nashville) airport. With full load of people and luggage, I figured the 32 mile trip would probably use most of my EV range from home. It did. I arrived with 0.5 EV miles showing on the display.

Now, I needed to go to my 2nd job, but not for a couple of hours. I figured this would be a great opportunity to take advantage of the new parking garage, and the EV stations installed there - which are free when using the parking garage.

There are six (6) J1772, 30-amp, and two (2) Chademo chargers, each, on two different levels of the parking garage. This is a total of 16 available EV spots.

----- HOWEVER -----

Every. Single. Spot. Was. Filled.

Not only that, but only TWO cars were actually plugged in: a Tesla, and a Porsche SUV PHEV.

The remaining spots just had EV vehicles parked there, without being plugged in. Most were Tesla, but there was a Leaf, another Porsche, a Volvo, etc.

Why would you just park there and block someone else from using the spot for charging? It just seemed "rude" to me.

Thoughts?
 
Agreed. When I plug in where I know I will be staying longer than it will take to charge up. I try to move my car to another spot. More to your point, if you do not need to charge, do not take up a spot just because it is more convenient. To me that is just rude.

On another subject, I am currently upset with one parking lot in Syracuse (NY) where there are 9 EV chargers with two connections a piece. I can never find a spot as they are 90% with non-EVs every time I've tried! According to the City of Syracuse, they are not designated as EV only spots. Lousy policy, IMO, as it is a metered lot. No meters at the charging stations but they get their money from the stations when in use. They are loosing out on revenue.
 
I agree with you if they were parking there just for the convenient location and not for charging. As more and more EVs come on line faster than the charging infrastructure is being built, we will undoubtedly see more “friction” about charging rights and responsibilities.

Here is how I try to be polite and equitable. I only park at an EVSE when I need to charge and move my Clarity as soon as the charging session is over. (Not possible for some in highly used public parking where it fills up) I also have a two sided tag for the charging handle. One side is green and says it’s ok to unplug me if you are in an emergency low charge state (but please plug me back in) and the other is red and says I need a full charge so please don't unplug. Both sides say feel free to unplug if charging has stopped. And both sides have my cell # for contacting me.

I personally wouldn’t mind signage limiting time spent at an EVSE and rates that continued after charging was over to encourage responsible usage that keeps the EVSEs available for the most time and most number of users.

And every EVSE should have signage that it’s only for EV cars and I am lobbying for laws that would enforce that with tickets and towing.

I’d very much like to hear the collective wisdom from our forum in tris topic.
 
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Agree with everyone. What I hate the most is looking at my Chargepoint App seeing free spots at a local mall and driving there only to see EV cars parked there and not plugged in. What's the point in having free spots on the Chargepoint app when people abuse the spots by parking and not charging.

City public charging also has a sign asking people to check in using plugshare so people know. But nobody does which also is a pain. Being ICEd is bad, but being EV blocked is worse if it is a non-charging car IMHO.
 
I think that part of my "beef" with this is that at an airport, there are two basic types of people parking.

Short-term, where you are picking up or dropping off, or just doing some basic business at the airport (TSA-pre signup, for example.) Or, maybe if you are just doing a day-trip somewhere.

Long-term, where you are parking for your travel for at least over night.

After giving this some thought, it would be nice to have a row for 120-volt plug-in locations in each parking lot for long-term EV charging. If you're gone for a few days, even in a Tesla, charging at a rate of 4 miles each hour, you're going to get nearly 100 miles of charge in a day. I'm thinking that this wasn't considered in the planning. If you have 20-amp, 120-volt GFCI outlets that are protected from weather, it shouldn't be that difficult to accomplish.

Save the J1772 and Chademo chargers for those needing a charge in a short-term situation.

To be fair, I did see a Leaf and two other Tesla vehicles parked in "regular" parking spaces. Not all are evil. ;-)
 
fotomoto said:
After your initial disappointment, weren't you glad you had a PHEV? ;)
Click to expand...

Absolutely! My range anxiety is more of a nuisance rather than a panic!

Although I find BEV's interesting, the range, infrastructure, and battery technology simply isn't there as it is for a normal ICE vehicle. I'm not willing to pay the $$$ for a Tesla either.
 
I feel your pain but it's all about the signage. Does the sign say "EV Parking Only" or "EV Charging Only"? Some even have a time limit for EV charging but of course people will make their own rules.
 
David in TN said:
I'm not willing to pay the $$$ for a Tesla either.
Click to expand...

While car shopping, I had the $35k Model 3 on the list which even tho' you can buy one now evidently still doesn't exist! LOL

What's not funny for me is the lack of even Tesla superchargers in my area. The two that I would need to use the most on my usual highway trips to see family are both located at McDonald's locations. There are no other eating choices and we don't eat that, umm, stuff anymore so having to choose to sit in one of those joints or wait it out in the car was a show stopper for me. My guess is affordable 300+ mile highway cars with abundant 15-20 minute charging locations is at least a decade away, probably longer for us in more sparsely populated areas.
 
Oregon's law treats any vehicle parked in an alternative fuel charging spot and not actively refueling the same way - up to a $250 ticket.

(1) As used in this section, “alternative fuel vehicle” has the meaning given that term in ORS 469B.100, except that “alternative fuel vehicle” includes vehicles registered in any jurisdiction.
(2) A person commits the offense of unlawful parking in a space reserved for alternative fuel vehicle refueling if:
(a) The person parks a vehicle in any parking space that is on premises open to the public;
(b) The parking space is marked or signed as reserved for alternative fuel vehicle refueling; and
(c) The vehicle in the parking space is not engaged in the refueling process.​
(3) The offense of unlawful parking in a space reserved for alternative fuel vehicle refueling is a Class D traffic violation.

And the economy lot at the Portland Airport has 24 free L1 (120v) EVSE's. The short term parking garage has a few L2's (usually full), and valet parking will charge your car while you are gone as well.
 
KentuckyKen said:
I agree with you if they were parking there just for the convenient location and not for charging. As more and more EVs come on line faster than the charging infrastructure is being built, we will undoubtedly see more “friction” about charging rights and responsibilities.

Here is how I try to be polite and equitable. I only park at an EVSE when I need to charge and move my Clarity as soon as the charging session is over. (Not possible for some in highly used public parking where it fills up) I also have a two sided tag for the charging handle. One side is green and says it’s ok to unplug me if you are in an emergency low charge state (but please plug me back in) and the other is red and says I need a full charge so please don't unplug. Both sides say feel free to unplug if charging has stopped. And both sides have my cell # for contacting me.

I personally wouldn’t mind signage limiting time spent at an EVSE and rates that continued after charging was over to encourage responsible usage that keeps the EVSEs available for the most time and most number of users.

And every EVSE should have signage that it’s only for EV cars and I am lobbying for laws that would enforce that with tickets and towing.

I’d very much like to hear the collective wisdom from our forum in tris topic.
Click to expand...
Where did you get your two sided tag? Sounds like a good thing to have.
 
Our campus spans several miles (state university). We have 3 EV charge spots about 6 blocks away from my office. The sign reads that you must have a parking hang-tag (paid parking), and be actively charging to use a spot. In all cases a strict 4 hour limit is enforced. Our parking police are aggressive, so you really do get a ticket if you violate.

So on days I use it, I make sure to move my vehicle as soon as I can-- after Hondalink tells me full. Even folks who are not really charging will get a ticket if the EVSE cord isn't attached, or if they exceed 4 hours.

I also suspect the 4 hour limit would keep ICE cars away (even if they were permitted), and EV users who just want a parking spot. i.e. not worth it for a spot you have to move out of during the day anyway. So it does keep the EV cars in rotation.
 
I can’t imagine authorizing some random stranger to unplug my car. These tags might be useful in an employee lot, where people have some affiliation, but not in a public lot.

I know it’s controversial, but I think BEVs should be privileged above PHEVs, with some spots reserved only for them. We can always drive home using the ICE; they can’t.
 
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