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Supercharger - Burbank, CA (Service Center, no longer on nav map)
- Thread starter MikeC
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- California Supercharging USA
Only locals would drop their car off at a supercharger and get picked up by another car, or park at a supercharger located at a mall and go shop for several hours. Those of us using the supercharger network for long distance travel like to charge and be on our way as soon as possible, at most just taking time for a meal.
Tesla really needs to institute a parking fee for cars parked at a supercharger and no longer charging, after a grace period of perhaps 15 or 20 minutes. Free supercharging for life doesn't mean free parking at the stalls after you're done.
Tesla really needs to institute a parking fee for cars parked at a supercharger and no longer charging, after a grace period of perhaps 15 or 20 minutes. Free supercharging for life doesn't mean free parking at the stalls after you're done.
I don't think locals are the problem. It is the ones that aren't courteous. I mean if you are local charge please be considerate and if there is a line come back at a time when there is hardly anyone. You won't be bothering anyone. The problem is they charge when other people who need them to continue on their journey. Also I fine that those people who are local also tend to leave their car there. If they would only charge to 80% and leave exactly when it is done, I think it can really help with congestion.
It is not only happening to burbank. There are other cases at other supercharging stations.
It is not only happening to burbank. There are other cases at other supercharging stations.
ShotgunF15E
Member
I've got a P90D and have made it from San Diego to Buttonwillow (past Tejon Ranch) on a full charge. I avoid Burbank at all costs because it's like that all the time. Only time I was stupid enough to stop there I was there for over 3 hours total between waiting and charging. Oh and to make matters worse, its well known that those stalls charge at a slower rate than most SCs making the matter even worse.
whttiger25
Member
Tesla could easily monitor crowded superchargers, identify cars that are plugged in but done charging for a certain amount of time, and call the owner.
I'm sure I could write a software script that will give a call center a nice never-ending list of phone numbers to call.
That is, if Tesla actually cared about the problem, or wasn't so totally overwhelmed with the many aspects of such a rapidly growing company....suspect it's the latter. Unfortunately that growth doesn't appear to be slowing down for a long time..
I see that growth (in terms of cars sold, etc.) as a good thing. The problem of a small percentage of all Supercharger locations being overcrowded is clearly not a good thing. Tesla desperately needs more Superchargers in the greater LA area. Santa Ana and Buena Park will be coming online soon and that will help a lot. For long distance travelers on I5 it is doable to go from Orange County to the Bakersfield/Buttonwillow Superchargers and skip Burbank (unless they are in a 60).
It is certainly possible to have a courteous discussion about locals using Superchargers without resorting to insults and profanity. I welcome such a discussion. But posts that violate TMC rules will be dealt with appropriately.
I generally do not read the Supercharger threads in the other regional forums so I do not know if other Superchargers also have overcrowding issues, though I have noticed that the Hong Kong Superchargers seem to be very busy. Of course in Hong Kong almost no one has home charging because almost everyone lives in high rise apartments.
It is great to see that Tesla has solved the Tejon crowding problem by building two new Superchargers nearby in the past year. Next step is for a future software release to include the capability of informing the driver who many stalls are currently occupied at a Supercharger location long before the driver gets there so a decision can be made as to whether to use that Superchareger or use a different one.
They are, and specifically the ones with home charging solutions...which right now for Tesla owners [and especially around Burbank] is the overwhelming majority of owners. I realize its beating the horse, but unchecked, the "I don't think locals are the problem" kind of enabling fuels the fire.
If you're one of the few that owns a tesla and doesn't have home charging, have at it with supercharging. You're in the noise on the utilization chart, and you very likely have alternate solutions that you've planned for anyway.
If you're one of the few that occasionally needs a local supercharge to get through a mileage heavy day, have at it with supercharging. That's what there there for.
If you're trying to save a buck, you're a terrible human being.
whttiger25
Member
I think the biggest problem with growth is that I am seeing "slippage" in terms of supercharger quality, not just overcrowding. There are too many reports now of Superchargers being randomly slow. It's happened to me more than half the time I've superchaged and I have supercharged probably about 30 times at 15 different locations. I call Tesla and they say there is an issue they are aware of, or utility related issues, etc, but with the parabolic growth anticipated from the Model 3, if superchargers aren't reliable now, how can they be made reliable in the future?
Superchargers working as fast as advertised, and reliably, is one of the best possible ways to avoid overcrowding, as vehicles will be able to move through more quickly.
I am skeptical that the reports this year of some California Superchargers delivering slower than normal charging rates have anything to do with Tesla growing fast.
I do not pretend to know why some Superchargers aren't always delivering normal charge rates. I can't say if Tesla has figured out the problem or not, but if they have it appears they have not yet applied a solution, or at least not a solution that consistently solves the problem.
roblab
Active Member
My opinion is that this neato software release, to tell us of all occupied SC stalls, would be virtually worthless. If the average traveler can charge enough to make the next jump in 20 minutes (and they can) an eight stall SC would be trading out cars every three minutes. If you were more than three miles away, your information would be useless. It would also not tell you of how long the waiting line might be, or which cars are going to sit there for two hours trying for a full charge (locals try), or which have finished charging while the owner sits in the nearby restaurant. Nor will it tell you of the other Teslas running up and down the grapevine who happen to be ahead of you and also plan to stop at Tejon or Buttonwillow. Some things you just can't know until you drive in.
Fortunately, every time I have ever been to those two or Harris, I have never had to wait. In roughly 110,000 miles of driving Teslas, many trips, many SCs, I have only had to wait twice. Waiting is not the end of the world. I can't believe the concern of maybe having to wait three minutes, just as I can hardly believe the carelessness of owners who block chargers with their own unthoughtfulness.
I believe that locals are a big problem, as they are seen dropping their cars off and being driven away. Entirely unacceptable and I blame Tesla for not making simple steps to remedy this. However, I believe that saying that they have home charging is an assumption. I have not seen proof of this.
Having home charging shouldn't be the criteria, rather it's can they install home charging?
Fair enough. Now how do we define "can"? Have the access AND the financial means? If they don't have access for whatever reason (apt dwelling, etc), that is certainly understandable. If it is cost prohibitive, how does someone judge that? Some people push the limit to get their Tesla's, and can't spare another $2,000 to run a line (in some cases, significantly more. Other times, less).
rfmurphy81
Member
Perhaps if enough affected travelers are emailing and calling Tesla about these issues as they run into them, they'll be reported as trends to the appropriate leaders. I would have to assume that the system they have in place is designed to bubble up trends like this, but I've only been an owner since February.
Also, we've seen the idle fees HTML code that was hidden in My Tesla so I'm hoping they are able to move forward on that sooner than later. If they require a credit card before allowing an owner to supercharge, that's where they can start enforcing against the owners letting their vehicle sit there well after charging has completed. If you try to supercharge without submitting your credit card (and probably agreeing to some updated T&C), then nothing happens. I'm not seeing this as conflicting with existing access for owners who either separately paid for it or it was included in the price of the car. I'm sure if this idle fee concept can be enacted, we'll see an improvement in these issues. I suspect there'll need to be a multi-pronged approach but this seems like a given.
But, in the meantime, I don't see why they can't look up who's been there and whether they've stopped charging for a certain amount of time to ask them to move their car because 6 owners are in line trying to get somewhere.
Also, we've seen the idle fees HTML code that was hidden in My Tesla so I'm hoping they are able to move forward on that sooner than later. If they require a credit card before allowing an owner to supercharge, that's where they can start enforcing against the owners letting their vehicle sit there well after charging has completed. If you try to supercharge without submitting your credit card (and probably agreeing to some updated T&C), then nothing happens. I'm not seeing this as conflicting with existing access for owners who either separately paid for it or it was included in the price of the car. I'm sure if this idle fee concept can be enacted, we'll see an improvement in these issues. I suspect there'll need to be a multi-pronged approach but this seems like a given.
But, in the meantime, I don't see why they can't look up who's been there and whether they've stopped charging for a certain amount of time to ask them to move their car because 6 owners are in line trying to get somewhere.
'Can' is just about anyone that lives in a SFH, as well as many people with condos [those with private garages]. Most garages have a 120v outlet somewhere in them, and many of them (at least the SFH garages) can have 240v lines run fairly easily. I'd be hard pressed to believe that all but a fraction of Burbank area Tesla owners don't fall into one of those two groups.
I'd also argue that those financially stretching to get a Tesla are more likely to consider the bigger picture, including alternate charging solutions. So...as a group of people I don't think they're really a major factor either.
ProphetM
Member
True enough, but that shouldn't stop them from working towards a solution that can help some of those issues, even if they can't address all of them. If they know where each Tesla is, they can include cars in proximity. So it might be able to tell you, 7 of 8 stalls connected, plus 4 more Teslas nearby (say, 300 feet or so), which could be assumed to be waiting. And while that's not perfect, it's at least more information than you can get now from which to make a judgement. It would be most useful in high-usage or low-usage cases, probably - very full locations or very empty ones - and of course more useful the closer you are.
Tesla's in proximity is detrimental in an urban environment. There are about 20 Teslas in my staff parking lot every day. Probably far more that come and go throughout the day. If my hospital was close to a SC (Burbank is smack in the middle of the city), then knowing that those 20, 30, even 50+ Teslas nearby is not only not helpful, but very confusing. It may be helpful on routes that are more remote, say Tejon, Buttonwillow and Bakersfield. This way, we could decide to go to the station with the best bet. You are correct though in that they need to work towards a solution. The update that we are told is coming does not have to be perfect. It is a start, and after a period of use, they can figure out the next step from there.
Back on topic: Burbank. They need an attendant, or a valet, and each person needs to be advised to please move there car when done charging. Having 2 consecutive people being driven off in other cars, without Tesla employees who work at that very location not say anything, seems a little ridiculous. I am glad that I live close enough to never need this SC.
That brings me to my next point: on many routes out of town, with a Range charge, my Nav asks me to stop at Burbank before going to my next stop. Burbank is only 10 miles away from me! Why would it ask me to stop there first only 10 miles into my trip????? I wonder if the Nav is diverting other people to Burbank.
This thread is for discussions specific to the Burbank Supercharger. There are many existing threads about home vs. local charging and issues related to that. Here is one such thread Using Superchargers for Local Charging
Please continue the home vs. local charging discussion there. Thank you.
Please continue the home vs. local charging discussion there. Thank you.
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