Restrooms @ charging stations

[Dark-Fx]

How does the industry not realize that any charge station without basic services like a restroom will do anything other than deter families from doing road trips in fully electric vehicles?

BYORR

A lot of EA stations are at Walmarts, but they're not 24/7.

Man, they used to be. Thank covid for pushing them over the edge on that decision.

Sponsored

 

[Jeep Addict]

Sounds like a business opportunity for an enterprising individual?

 

[Aardvark]

I have used a charging station (EA) at a bank before, and as everyone knows, banks aren't exactly known for public restrooms

That's what the night deposit slot is for.

Seriously, I'm with the OP on this one. When on an unfamiliar route, I spend extra time on PlugShare looking at the amenities to see if a gas station or rest area stop is needed before the charging stop. In our experience, the worst network is EVGo that is locating more and more in run down strip malls. It's not fun making a long walk with legs crossed to a distant Dollar General, hoping that the restrooms will be unlocked and oppen to customers. This was our experience last month (before our NACS adapter arrived...there will be no more EVGo in our future).

 

[Mellowyellow]

If I remember correctly, you can filter charging stations based on amenities on plugshare too, right?

 

[Brookliner]

you're welcome

We call this a “no thank you” at my house.

 

[BCondrey]

You can use plugshare, it will show you the amenities. Pick the stops that work for you. I get that there are sometimes not that many options.

 

[Riviot]

Restrooms cost money to build and maintain and security to keep meth heads out of them.

https://www.amazon.com/DIBBATU-Disposable-Emergency-Portable-Suitable/dp/B0B9XN7KXW/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=K8UYGVY30269&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.S0XnY1BHJECYqWjYKKfwrUjURslJCgVr1aGtGbocinmAC4e2WiX7_L-h83e0I-KUfczsQmKLWtVCdHuB8AfSEOxlqQukhBq5fauVg_ubDzyi3-8qEz8SAg__N0JlQ5ek_HrMpJlZMT7C4PYjTco4WbQdCC2qMpBlUvoiyA8_9uVMYeKBfHOrIsw9n_18Sv1EYczeUCW4pOY8kwercEP1GGXmF6cuAU3_oWrI_czyzG91QgY4NA92nnSFfl6HkFmGrj6IDf1aSy8UBnH-H6ypa1aHwYV_-EoVEVtQQ1SV8D0.3ydax2Mj5yLQPrRwZODDH5bzQgzEzNavAa9euxaeEE0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Disposable+toilet&qid=1724033628&sprefix=disposable+toilet,aps,155&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

So wasteful.

 

[Ingo B]

The EV charging industry is still relatively young, I suspect the majority of locations were selected as an afterthought from a very limited pool of options. Also, remember the vast majority of people resist change, so the willingness to invest in something "unknown" is low. Now that EV's are becoming more popular, I would imagine we'll see an uptick in both chargers and location quality, but even so, this will take a few years for the wave to hit.

 

[mkg3]

How does the industry not realize that any charge station without basic services like a restroom will do anything other than deter families from doing road trips in fully electric vehicles?

Every charging station I have been to all have restrooms nearby. They are all in near restaurants/stores.

I have road tripped thousands of EV miles and this is my experience so I believe your experience is an outlier or rare example.

 

[SwampNut]

Dude do you also drink tea with your pinkie up? You’re too good for an empty water bottle?

How is it that I always have to go MORE than the bottles I just drank on the road?

I've never been to a DCFC that didn't have facilities in reasonable distance. Say 1k feet or so? There is a Supercharger in Buckeye that is VERY full at all times, and the Carl's Jr next to it has been trying to manage bathroom usage. It was locked/blocked for a while. In these cases Tesla should have made some arrangements. OTOH the employees did say they get a lot of business from charging, not everyone, just more.

Tesla, in my experience around the West, always has the best amenities/closest. "Best" is subjective of course. I've had to decide between paying extra to have a better stop at an SC, or save money and use a RAN that is in a "just ok" location.

 

[SwampNut]

I suspect the majority of locations were selected as an afterthought from a very limited pool of options.

One of my best friends was involved with installing Superchargers for a while. Not an afterthought, and the "pool" mostly has to do with resources, space, and host companies. The resources are huge commercial power, and/or space for solar panels. Host companies can be helpful or a pain, and also they have their own amenities and such. We have some Target stores here with SCs and panels; they were happy to do it and to put panels on their buildings. Target stores are in places with plenty of high voltage commercial power.

 

[Bullwinkle]

Sounds like a business opportunity for an enterprising individual?

Unbelievably, there is actually a federal law that prevents state hwy departments from adding charging to interstate highway rest stops.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Must not ever had pleasure of using a single disgusting gas station bathroom. Who’s going to keep the facilities clean? And you’re willing to pay extra on your charging costs to cover it? There are already people complaining Superchargers are too expensive (when they aren’t, once compared to EA and EVgo in the same area and at same time if day). Some better developed sites do have restrooms. Unless in the middle of nowhere, most are close enough to restaurants and malls that do have facilities. Figure it out.

 

[Captain JB]

It is most certainly a void. More and more gas stations have shut their bathrooms cuz they are cheap and dont want to maintain and some other venues have huge signs saying “for customers only” so it is becoming more of an issue. JB

 

[beatle]

Every charging station I have been to all have restrooms nearby. They are all in near restaurants/stores.

I have road tripped thousands of EV miles and this is my experience so I believe your experience is an outlier or rare example.

Not so rare. There are a lot of stations with stores/restaurants that aren't open 24/7 or on major holidays.

For example, I used to stop at the supercharger at Patrick Henry mall early on Christmas Eve on the way to see family. This was around 7am on Dec 24th, so the mall was closed. There is a Comfort Inn about a 1/4 mile up the road where I could walk in and use the restroom, but it's not ideal. I was glad to have charging available, however, as my P85D wouldn't have made the full trip in the cold, and I would have had to otherwise go out of my way to charge near Richmond.

The RAN in Waynesboro has a grocery store and a Buffalo Wild Wings nearby, but both are likely to be closed on Thanksgiving morning when I make another annual pilgrimage (no pun intended). There are no other options for even a restroom nearby.

In contrast, superchargers at Sheetz on I-81 are open 24x7 and have both food and restrooms available. They're great places to stop. This is where I used to stop on Thanksgiving morning, but these superchargers are V2 and are not open to non-Tesla vehicles.

Sponsored