Electrify America unveils Indoor Flagship Charging Station (opened Feb 9, 2024)

[R1Sky Business]

Lived not far from Fisherman's Warf during '99~'04. Can confirm. You get your shit smashed even while parked in private "secure" parking.

Can't wait....

Sponsored

 

[foxerson]

I live in SF and will likely never use this location but applaud the decision to install it anyway. I am fortunate enough to have a charger at home. Many people in the city don’t have that luxury.

Take a look at PlugShare and you will see only 5 locations with speeds of >150kw within the city limits. That’s pretty meager for a city of 815k people. In addition to serving those without charging at home this is a needed amenity for visitors who continue to travel to SF despite the well publicized problems with crime and homelessness.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

Neat I guess

But...

JUST GIVE US PULL THROUGH CHARGERS WITH SOME OVERHEAD PROTECTION FROM ELEMENTS AND A CONVENIENCE STORE LIKE EVERY CURRENT PETROL STATION IN EXISTENCE!

ADD A GATED DOG RUN OR BASKETBALL COURT LIKE SOME TRAVEL STATIONS FOR EXTRA PIZZAZ!

STOP PUTTING THESE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY, MAKE TRAVEL CENTERS WHERE PEOPLE NEED/WANT A BREAK OUT IN THE WILD, NEAR REAL NATURE SITES!

 

[mkhuffman]

I live in SF and will likely never use this location but applaud the decision to install it anyway. I am fortunate enough to have a charger at home. Many people in the city don’t have that luxury.

Take a look at PlugShare and you will see only 5 locations with speeds of >150kw within the city limits. That’s pretty meager for a city of 815k people. In addition to serving those without charging at home this is a needed amenity for visitors who continue to travel to SF despite the well publicized problems with crime and homelessness.

Your politicians have destroyed your city. It used to be one of the greatest cities in the world. Now I will only go there if forced.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

Even with "monitoring and security", how will they prevent this location from getting trashed or overrun by homeless people?

Edit : posted the same question on Reddit, and the comment was summarily deleted by the Reddit mods (most of whom are on here as well). I guess we'll just have to revisit this once it gets running and is on Plugshare to see real customer feedback. Believe me, I want more locations like this, but securing will be costly.

Reddit is the worst. Mods that get off on controlling their little kingdoms have ruined the site completely. I'm done with it.

 

[Slatesride]

Although flawed, I like the concept. They are looking toward the future. Let’s face it, the homeless numbers are just increasing along with crime. I would feel safer inside a building for 30 minutes. I would assume they would only allow entry with a credit type card or app, similar to an ATM room. And multiple cameras. And like someone already said, a convenience store with an attendant. Maybe like an old drive through dairy, just enclosed. Sure there will be breaches but better than waiting 20-60 minutes in the back of a dark parking lot.

 

[AllInev]

And is still charging to 100%...

Ha, ha….

 

[itselectric]

I like the idea but would prefer to see it outside of a city, near multiple interstates, and a handful of pull though stations.

I get that SF and California have a ton of EVs but truly we need large scale travel EV charging centers on major roadways that aren't in the heart of a city.

Like bucees for EV charging. Take for example cities like Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, st Louis, DC. A hub like this somewhere near all of the connected interstates would make a lot more sense.

I can speak for the DFW area, there are nowhere near enough chargers, they are very spread out and typically only 2-4 stalls work per station and the output is never what's rated.

This excludes Tesla Superchargers of course.

 

[mkg3]

I like the idea but would prefer to see it outside of a city, near multiple interstates, and a handful of pull though stations.

I get that SF and California have a ton of EVs but truly we need large scale travel EV charging centers on major roadways that aren't in the heart of a city.

Like bucees for EV charging. Take for example cities like Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, st Louis, DC. A hub like this somewhere near all of the connected interstates would make a lot more sense.

I can speak for the DFW area, there are nowhere near enough chargers, they are very spread out and typically only 2-4 stalls work per station and the output is never what's rated.

This excludes Tesla Superchargers of course.

I'm sure EA agrees with you. In fact all of charging business do.

This was a first of supposedly many EA charing hub. They wanted to place it where it would get lots of media coverage; hence, in my earlier post mentioned that they should have picked SoCal/Santa Monica-Westwood to showcase the first.

EV infrastructure is anything but robust, even when you include Tesla SC into the consideration. Businesses have not quite figured out how to deal with idle time while the vehicles are charging for people.

Some stores, like Walmart and Ikea, are installing EV chargers on their parking lot so that people shop while charging. That fine for local charging but for the interstates, need a different solution. Yes, there are restraints at many charge stops but it's not a part of the stations. Its adjacent and if you're late getting back to it, there are idle charges.

MB is installing EV chargers at all Buckee's, as I've read couple of months ago. So that'll help some for MB owners.

Once NACS is common throughout the EV terminals, it will help greatly but that alone is not sufficient. There should be EV terminal at EVERY gas station throughout the interstates and truck stops, too.

Last but most importantly, reliability of the terminals. As a Tesla owner, I've never had a SC out of service anywhere. As a Rivian owner, I've experienced multiple EA, EVgo stalls that are out of service, when I needed to charge. I will gladly pay whatever Tesla will charge at SC on any roadtrip to ensure working SC terminal and not rely on others for now.

 

[Cycliste]

Write up on Medium (not me)

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Seeing this story pop up all over the internet... I can't help but wonder.

You know all those mall parking structures with dynamic marquee displays that tell you how many parking spaces are available and on what floor? Imagine if there are charging structures like this EA location in every medium to large metro area, one location per every 3 zip codes. And each location has floors for charging and waiting. As you pull in, at a glance of a marquee you know of charger availability, and are guided to one. If none are available you are guided to a parking space and assigned to the next available charger. Once that charger is less than a minute of becoming available, you are notified to head there.

Maybe we don't even need to rely on marquees. Use QR codes and online portals to handle the sign-in and reservation process. How hard can it be? It's all existing tech.

How nice would this be? Nice and orderly. Instead of the chaotic free-for-all that we have today.

 

[atebit]

Will people really want to sit around and use these “amenities” while…they wait to charge their car??

Having a strip mall nearby with comfort stations and the ability to grab a bite to eat while topping off is one thing, vs a charging oasis “destination”. What’s needed is more charging infra in places that are already destinations, like gyms, shopping centers, downtown/town centers, etc., where you’re already going to spend productive time.

 

[heyeli]

I stopped by last weekend to check it out. Most people were in their cars while they charged, but the lounge area was clean. I'd like it to last, but keeping it nice will definitely cost a lot. The location is nice because it's on the way to the bay bridge. I live in the east bay so it was really convenient to charge before heading home.

 

[shrink]

I stopped by last weekend to check it out. Most people were in their cars while they charged, but the lounge area was clean. I'd like it to last, but keeping it nice will definitely cost a lot. The location is nice because it's on the way to the bay bridge. I live in the east bay so it was really convenient to charge before heading home.

Great feedback. Thanks for sharing. With all that black on your beautiful R1S you need to black out that satin/chrome-looking window trim!

 

[j.w.s]

I visted the SF location last night at around 10PM. Nine cars charging, so plenty of availability. The location is very convenient, and I really liked the bright and open feel, the seating, and the bathrooms.

For some reason, charging was free that night, so I got $42 worth of juice for $0, and man was it fast - 220KW at 25% SOC on the R1S and it stayed up around 200KW for a surprisingly long time:

Sponsored