Courtesy info supercharging station

[AmpedRealtor]

Actually, you don't. The SC ramps down the charging rate as the SOC gets higher. Neither the car nor app tells you estimated time to finish like when you plug into a level2 charger.

Fine, then check your mobile app or at least come back and check on your car every 20-30 minutes. It sounds like some people here can't be inconvenienced to check on their own vehicles while being charged?

I suppose this rant was a shining example of "correct behavior"?

I'm in an online forum expressing my opinion about the bad behavior of the OP in leaving his car unattended while he enjoyed his evening and made other Tesla owners wait over 90 minutes until he finished his leisurely evening. Acknowledgment of your douchiness is not absolution for your douchiness. Am I being clear here? And in case it needed to be pointed out, I'm not at a supercharging station, but if I were, I would be considerate to others unlike the OP.

 

[VirtualE]

AmpedRealtor , I made a mistaken, first Time I leave the car longer than I needed.

My post was to admit my error and apologize for leaving it longer in a location. There are 4 super charging spots in Folsom.
It will definitely not happen again from me.

I decided to expose myself, use my own mistake, to bring awareness of the correct behavior.

 

[VolkerP]

kudos.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

AmpedRealtor , I made a mistaken, first Time I leave the car longer than I needed.

My post was to admit my error and apologize for leaving it longer in a location. There are 4 super charging spots in Folsom.
It will definitely not happen again from me.

I decided to expose myself, use my own mistake, to bring awareness of the correct behavior.

You deserve credit for coming forward, it's not easy to intentionally put yourself out there and then take the criticism.

 

[lodenthal]

As one who uses the Superchargers in Folsom on occasion, I understand how you can go too long but the correct thing to do is to monitor your car with your app and move it as sooon as its charged, which in our family we try to do. I'd hate to see these things happen too often. Especially on a day when many are returning from Tahoe and needing a charge to get home. That brings up another point, locals should not charge on days when there is considerable traffic such as a Sunday or frequently as that is really an abuse of the Superchargers.

 

[AlMc]

As one who uses the Superchargers in Folsom on occasion, I understand how you can go too long but the correct thing to do is to monitor your car with your app and move it as sooon as its charged, which in our family we try to do. I'd hate to see these things happen too often. Especially on a day when many are returning from Tahoe and needing a charge to get home. That brings up another point, locals should not charge on days when there is considerable traffic such as a Sunday or frequently as that is really an abuse of the Superchargers.

Basic common coutesy. Locals should have access to the SC if they wish but should keep an eye on their spot and if someone else comes along that needs a charge (long distance) then happily relinquish the spot. Seems simple. Tesla owns the SCs, all Tesla owners should have access to them if they wish. Be kind and couteous to one another.

I suddenly sound like my mother :wink:

 

[dsm363]

Basic common coutesy. Locals should have access to the SC if they wish but should keep an eye on their spot and if someone else comes along that needs a charge (long distance) then happily relinquish the spot. Seems simple. Tesla owns the SCs, all Tesla owners should have access to them if they wish. Be kind and couteous to one another.

I suddenly sound like my mother :wink:

Definitely. Everyone has the right to use the Superchargers as we all paid for access but those that don't really need the charge to get where they are going should probably try and hang around the general area or monitor their charge remotely (everyone should actually) to help free up the spot. It's a team effort and as long as the spots are limited it is even more important.

 

[roblab]

Definitely. Everyone has the right to use the Superchargers as we all paid for access but those that don't really need the charge to get where they are going should probably try and hang around the general area or monitor their charge remotely (everyone should actually) to help free up the spot. It's a team effort and as long as the spots are limited it is even more important.

OK, tell me the downside of having your cell number displayed on the dash while you charge. Anyone needing the spot could call and check to see if you are around, are near completion, can move out of your way, how long it might be, etc. Those who are not courteous could just keep from leaving any contact info, and make sure they could park without interruption of their day of shopping.

It only takes a couple seconds, but I never see any cell number on any car charging anywhere. We're all obviously way too busy to worry about each other.

 

[dsm363]

OK, tell me the downside of having your cell number displayed on the dash while you charge. Anyone needing the spot could call and check to see if you are around, are near completion, can move out of your way, how long it might be, etc. Those who are not courteous could just keep from leaving any contact info, and make sure they could park without interruption of their day of shopping.

It only takes a couple seconds, but I never see any cell number on any car charging anywhere. We're all obviously way too busy to worry about each other.

I think leaving your phone number is probably a good idea but some are unwilling to do that. It still is the responsibility of the person charging to have some vague idea of when they are done and try and be back to move their car. When people go to gas stations they might run inside and block the station for an extra few min but they typically don't go see a movie and leave their car there.

 

[Thumper]

VE, I like your courtesy card. In addition to a phone #, how about a line that reads "based on my state of charge when I plugged in, I expect to finish my charging needs at approximately ____________ ." That would give folks waiting a sense of how long til the spot opens.

 

[yobigd20]

I use a local SC in Delaware from time to time but never leave the area.

That's because you're in Delaware and there's nothing to do.

 

[AlMc]

That's because you're in Delaware and there's nothing to do.

That is why it is called 'DEL..A..WHERE?' Gotta have a sense of humor when you live in a small state....Good news...I think there are only 3-4 MSs in the State. so, I have lots of people ask me about the car. I am trying to sell as many cars as possible to keep TM in the black and help the stock price!

 

[Jason S]

VE, I like your courtesy card. In addition to a phone #, how about a line that reads "based on my state of charge when I plugged in, I expect to finish my charging needs at approximately ____________ ." That would give folks waiting a sense of how long til the spot opens.

Oh... now there's an idea. Just from the beginning you can have a completion time in mind (roughly) and it would be helpful.

 

[smd]

Superchargers should be treated more like a gas pump and not like a parking space. Stay with the car or actively monitor it with the smartphone app while it's fueling, then move your car to a regular parking space for the rest of your shopping/eating.

What do you think would happen if an ICE pulls up to a gas pump, starts to fuel and clips the pump on, then leaves for 30-60 minutes?

 

[metafor]

As more Model S's hit the road, this will increasingly become a bigger problem. We all have the app and moving the car after it's been fully charged is preferable.

That being said, often times we can get caught up with other things. I can certainly see catching a movie as one. Of course I'd be willing to go out for a few minutes and move my car if someone needs the spot but in case there are enough spots (or no one needs it), I wouldn't mind continuing to do what I'm doing.

I think a much easier way is to use social networking. Twitter seems the perfect platform for this.

Just tweet with #gilroySC for instance telling people your contact info when you get to the supercharger. People can check it when they arrive. You can even set your twitter handle to vibrate via notification when someone tweets to certain hashtags. Best of all, anyone can start!

Perhaps a perm thread with a listing of all the supercharger location hashtags?

 

[AlMc]

I was giving this problem some more thought last night and just posted a similar response on the TM site thread. I am not very 'tech savvy' so my suggestions may not be possible or infringe on privacy laws/etiquette. My suggestions: If possible:

1. Have an App that shows how many of the SC stalls are in use when you are say within 50 miles of them.

2. Require that all Tesla owners supply a cell phone number to continue to use the free SC stations. The Stall would then send a text message to the cell phone number when the car is fully charged.

3. Finally. Say within 10 minutes of sending this message to the vehicle owner, the App displays the cell phone number for that stall so someone waiting could call the owner directly themselves.

- - - Updated - - -

Based on some feedback/suggestions: Add

4. Automatically charge your credit card for being connected at a station for more than _______minutes after the stall senses you have reached full charge. make the charge an escalating one.

5. Deny use of SC station for a certain number of violations over the ______minutes grace period to move your car.

 

[blc1017]

As more Model S's hit the road, this will increasingly become a bigger problem. We all have the app and moving the car after it's been fully charged is preferable.

That being said, often times we can get caught up with other things. I can certainly see catching a movie as one. Of course I'd be willing to go out for a few minutes and move my car if someone needs the spot but in case there are enough spots (or no one needs it), I wouldn't mind continuing to do what I'm doing.

I think a much easier way is to use social networking. Twitter seems the perfect platform for this.

Just tweet with #gilroySC for instance telling people your contact info when you get to the supercharger. People can check it when they arrive. You can even set your twitter handle to vibrate via notification when someone tweets to certain hashtags. Best of all, anyone can start!

Perhaps a perm thread with a listing of all the supercharger location hashtags?

Seems like a good idea...but since SC can stand for a number of things, you are likely to get more than Supercharger info. For instance...search #FolsomSC on Twitter...you will get Folsom Soccer Club.

 

[xray]

As more Model S's hit the road, this will increasingly become a bigger problem. We all have the app and moving the car after it's been fully charged is preferable.

That being said, often times we can get caught up with other things. I can certainly see catching a movie as one. Of course I'd be willing to go out for a few minutes and move my car if someone needs the spot but in case there are enough spots (or no one needs it), I wouldn't mind continuing to do what I'm doing.

The problem with this approach is that it is impossible to predict the number of Tesla's that can descend on a SC at any given moment. You could have a totally empty SC station and within minutes have 4 or more cars completely fill it up.

Also, there's no way to tell whether a car is full or not when the car is locked. All indicators such as the green light typically shut off as does the screen. So, how do you figure out which car to call even if they left their cell phone.

Until Tesla comes up with a more technological solution, I plan to monitor my car periodically when using the SC and move my car as soon as I'm done. I think this approach should apply to all EV charging stations, not just superchargers.

Those that have made an analogy to leaving your car at a gas pump are correct. SC may be very slow in comparison to gas pumps but at the core, they are essentially providing the exact same service.

 

[metafor]

Just check the Twitter thread. The guy who posted an hour ago likely is at full charge while the guy who posted 10 min ago hasn't. You can even include your estimated complete time when you start charging. Provide either phone # or even Twitter handle (assuming you have direct message or @ tweet notifications on) and anyone who shows up can contact/tweet you to move your car.

There's no way to prevent backed up Superchargers if 8+ people show up. However, with some efficient communication, we can at least make it as efficient as possible for everyone to get a charge.

The hashtags can be anything but as blc1017 pointed out, we should probably do something like:

#GilroySupercharger
#FolsomSupercharger
#HarrisSupercharger
#TejonSupercharger
#BarstowSupercharger

etc.

So long as they're not currently being used and the list is accessible (perhaps sticky on the forums) we should be good to go.

 

[VolkerP]

I think the whole courtesy information idea is going nowhere. What if I arrive at a station with 10 stalls? Or let's talk 2014, with >10k Model S in California, and popular superchargers are expanded to 24 stalls? I don't want to walk from car to car, deciphering hastily scribbled phone numbers, or browse dozens of twitter messages in order to find someone willing to move his car.
OTOH when a large queue builds up, every car owner already charging will receive a continuous stream of text messages, phone calls, or tweets. I'd find that rather inconveniencing.

I want to restate my idea: Tesla should make the brake light in the rear window light up in segments, indicating state of charge so you can find the car which is nearest to complete its session. Another way would be to have the cars at a SC location broadcast their progress to an app that runs on the Model S touchscreen. Endless options here.

But in the end, all of this is moot if the owners don't show up and move their cars.