Charging an electric vehicle in the future increasingly looks like an experience somewhere between a truck stop and an airport lounge.

Most public chargers sit in parking lots, often three or four machines along the side of a hotel or grocery store. Drivers are exposed to the elements and, unless they need to go shopping, are basically stuck hanging out in their cars while filling their batteries.

But charging companies and automakers increasingly see a need for stations with amenities: restaurants, good bathrooms, comfortable furniture, and canopies that shield from the rain, snow and sun. After all, even the fastest chargers need a half-hour to top off your car so you’d better enjoy the stay. The additional convenience could entice would-be EV drivers to take the plunge, adding fuel to the electric transition.

  • @[email protected]
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    282 months ago

    I don’t think EV chargers need amenities, I think we need to put the chargers in the places people are going anyway.

      • osaerisxero
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        112 months ago

        I expect chargers with big solar arrays bolted to the roofs to start being the norm tbh.

        it’s free real estate.jpg

    • @[email protected]
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      172 months ago

      You need both. Destination chargers in malls and the like, and chargers along highways for people on longer trips.