Supercharger - Dublin (14 V2 stalls)

[JPP]

I'm happy to read that improvements/expansion is planned for this site. Every time I drive by (the fly over from S680 to W580), I see all of the stalls occupied, regardless of day of week and time of day.

...and with way too many locals and overtime dwellers....

 

[aesculus]

...and with way too many locals and overtime dwellers....

Not to mention the mysterious charging valet service that appears to go on in the background ...

 

[roblab]

...and with way too many locals and overtime dwellers....

And if the charger had a timer (how hard is that?) that would only allow, let's say, 40 minutes, enough to easily get you to another charger, and then the user would have to move to the end of the line or drive off, the locals might get the hint, and the travelers could get the charge they need.

I was there a couple weeks ago. While I waited in line, a guy walked up, checked a charging car, then walked away. A couple minutes later here he comes back with another Tesla following him. I walked over to inform him there was a line (like you couldn't see it!), and he backed off, while the first in line took the place. That's pretty nervy!

 

[aesculus]

Dublin needs a rent-a-cop

 

[CuriousG]

I was coming back last Tuesday about 2:30PM and decided to try Dublin. All stalls were taken with the exception to the taped off SuperCharger(s). Went directly to Manteca and there two cars there with one being a Model X that had a large camper in the back. It was blocking the perpendicular charger but there was no immediate danger of the stalls being utilized. Problem with Manteca is there is absolutely nothing to do there. The mall is pretty dead.

 

[RandyR]

My solution is this: The software in the Tesla is smart enough to know where "home" is, so have the software disable SC'ing within, say, 20 miles of "home", unless the battery charge is, say, under 30 miles, and if under 30, then only charge to 15 min. Something like this would keep the locals away.

The key issue then becomes: how to disconnect the charging cable and move the charged Tesla out of the charging stall without owner intervention.

 

[Dave EV]

My solution is this: The software in the Tesla is smart enough to know where "home" is, so have the software disable SC'ing within, say, 20 miles of "home", unless the battery charge is, say, under 30 miles, and if under 30, then only charge to 15 min. Something like this would keep the locals away.

How do you handle people who can't charge at home for whatever reason or perhaps came home with a discharged battery and need a quick charge for the rest of their travels?

 

[jeffro01]

How do you handle people who can't charge at home for whatever reason or perhaps came home with a discharged battery and need a quick charge for the rest of their travels?

Then perhaps they shouldn't have bought the car in the first place???... That's an absolutely unfair statement on my part but Tesla seriously needs to crack down on locals who can charge at home but won't... Perhaps there could be an exception process for those who can't but I doubt Tesla would be interested in that as it's one more thing to manage...

I think Tesla needs to figure out who these charging valets are and crack down on that first... That will require Tesla to keep people supervising SC spots which is a cost that Tesla probably isn't interested in beyond the few locations where they've been put in a no choice situation to date...

If people would simply stop abusing this privilege and act like reasonable adults, this wouldn't even be an issue. The locals who can't charge at home would have plenty of capacity to deal with in conjunction with long distance travelers... It's that middle group of entitled, lazy, useless, and abhorrent individuals who are going to ruin it for everyone else...

Jeff

 

[RandyR]

How do you handle people who can't charge at home for whatever reason or perhaps came home with a discharged battery and need a quick charge for the rest of their travels?

There will always be exceptions to every rule (and the personnel at a Service Center can be empowered to approve exceptions), however the key is to use the existing data for the vehicle to allow charging or not, and if allowed, then for how long. I truly doubt that Tesla wants to hire people to manage their SC's, and the problem will only get worse if some kinda of logic is not programmed into our cars to prevent this type of abuse.

 

[ecarfan]

Gentleman: please do not re-hash in this thread, for the hundredth time, the debate over whether locals are using some Superchargers so much that they are consistently overcrowded. While the problem of overcrowding does plague the Dublin location, it is far from the only location that experiences that problem. If you wish to debate that topic, and possible solutions, you can add to the 392 pages of discussion at Tesla Supercharger network or start a new topic in the forum about Tesla Motors at Tesla Motors

Thank you.

 

[stefancw]

Any idea how many stalls they are putting in?

Thanks.

 

[dhcp]

I was there a couple weeks ago. While I waited in line, a guy walked up, checked a charging car, then walked away. A couple minutes later here he comes back with another Tesla following him. I walked over to inform him there was a line (like you couldn't see it!), and he backed off, while the first in line took the place. That's pretty nervy!

You were kind, I would have lost my stuff if I saw nonsense like that going on. I have zero patience for people like that who don't want to participate as a community member and exercise common human decency. It's like trying to board an airplane (or in any line) in Italy. It's more of a funnel than a line!

 

[aesculus]

It's like trying to board an airplane (or in any line) in Italy. It's more of a funnel than a line!

I am guessing you were not at the Model X reveal last September.

 

[wyldtek]

I confirmed that the construction is more charging stations for the service department so they can avoid using the public chargers for cars they are servicing.

 

[JPP]

I was down at the Dublin sales/service center today for a minor fix. I had the opportunity to look around at the trenching and electrical work, and talk to the service manager. Turns out that all of the trenching and work is to install just 1 additional Supercharger, at the service entrance, for use by service staff. Apparently the electrical infrastructure in the local neighborhood in general, and at that facility in particular, will not support any additional power draw.

He and I also discussed the problems with locals using/abusing the Superchargers. He says that it is a major issue. People cutting in line, people being rude, people getting into verbal altercations, sometimes necessitating calls to 911. The long time daily hogs are well known by vehicle, VIN, name and number. Not much they can do about it. He knows that the existing owners grandfathered into unlimited Supercharging will not be deterred, but hopes that with the new plan, there will be some easing of tensions. He noted that he is continually amazed at how ‘frugal’ some of his customers are, given their investment in the vehicle. For example, intentionally keeping the charge limit set to 30-40% for home use, just charging enough to make it to the service center/Supercharger, when they have charging capability at home. It adds a layer of complexity and ‘social engineering’ to his job.

 

[ecarfan]

He noted that he is continually amazed at how ‘frugal’ some of his customers are, given their investment in the vehicle. For example, intentionally keeping the charge limit set to 30-40% for home use, just charging enough to make it to the service center/Supercharger, when they have charging capability at home.

That is appalling behavior. Someone buys a $90K car and then tries to save a few dollars per charge by taking a Supercharger spot that a long distance traveler needs to continue their journey. It is unfortunate that the staff at the Dublin location have to live with this problem. But realistically there is nothing they can do about it. I am glad that Tesla is adding a Supercharger stall for their service customers.

I genuinely believe that Elon never envisioned that happening to any significant degree. But it does happen, and not just at the Dublin location. The recently announced change in the Supercharger availability for cars built as of 1/1/2017 was a necessary move by Tesla.

 

[MarcG]

For example, intentionally keeping the charge limit set to 30-40% for home use [...]

How is that possible? The minimum limit the car allows is 50% SoC.
An advanced EVSE can impose time or energy draw limits, but unless it'a DC it can't know the car's SoC.

 

[CuriousG]

He and I also discussed the problems with locals using/abusing the Superchargers. He says that it is a major issue. People cutting in line, people being rude, people getting into verbal altercations, sometimes necessitating calls to 911. The long time daily hogs are well known by vehicle, VIN, name and number. Not much they can do about it. He knows that the existing owners grandfathered into unlimited Supercharging will not be deterred, but hopes that with the new plan, there will be some easing of tensions.

Of all places that need a Tesla attendant why isn't there one at that location? Why not necessitate that if you're going to charge there, you need to stay with your car? They may not be able to do anything about unlimited charging, at least make it more structured or inconvenient to want to charge at that location, especially for the abusers.

 

[JPP]

Of all places that need a Tesla attendant why isn't there one at that location? Why not necessitate that if you're going to charge there, you need to stay with your car? They may not be able to do anything about unlimited charging, at least make it more structured or inconvenient to want to charge at that location, especially for the abusers.

It is my understanding that they do not want to be confrontational. They already see conflicts between owners and abusers. They do not wish to become the enforcers. they likely hope that $$ will influence behavior (...as it usually does).

 

[aesculus]

It is my understanding that they do not want to be confrontational. They already see conflicts between owners and abusers. They do not wish to become the enforcers. they likely hope that $$ will influence behavior (...as it usually does).

But they have Supecharger cops elsewhere. I know a a few people that have been run out of Manteca for being there more than 30 minutes even when they were not local. One person had to leave, go to lunch, and come back to finish their charge so they could continue. I thought that was crazy and I would have been on the phone to Tesla while I was at the charger.