Supercharger - San Mateo, CA - Park Place (LIVE, 8 V2 stalls)

[Ulmo]

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1. ...
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3. I went to the nearest fast charger Chademo. It is downstairs from the SuperCharger. It had no one there. There are four 125 Amp (>37kW-42kW on a 60) Chademo&Combo DC stations, ChargePoint, $0.25/kWh, + $0.25/minute after first 60 minutes (no one needs that long unless charging more than around 40kWh).
4. ...

Correction: $0.25/kWh (I had previously written $0.25/kW, which would be horrible!).

 

[Crush]

FYI regarding the San Mateo supercharger.....I spoke with a gentleman from Black & Veatch doing a site survey on the location and he informed me that there are plans under development to add superchargers at the Park Place location directly to the southwest of where the current chargers are located. By my count, there are an additional 17 parking spaces but I did note that this location could cause even more of a backup as cars try to enter the parking lot. We will see. Maybe they will take my advice and locate the new chargers in the underground garage. It just seems more logical and out of the way of all the business parking.

Here is B&V's info regarding working with Tesla to expand their network....

Tesla Supercharger - Electric Vehicle Charging System

 

[dandelot]

I don't have any data either, but I suspect those San Mateo slots being used up are mostly local office workers behaving badly. Within 2-3 blocks of the SC there are hundreds of condos/apartments and hundreds of office workers. I don't know how long the line-watcher folks were there to get better behavior, but could not have been more than a month(?). When they were around asking SC arrivers how long they would be charging there was no line. We shop at Whole Foods a couple times a month around mid-day so I get to check the SC status. It's full and someone is waiting every time now.

Thanks for the ChaDeMo in the basement mention. Next time I see a line I'll point out that option
to the folks in line; I had no idea there were those basement stations, we don't go to that end of
the underground parking lot (the underground general parking is AFAIK never above 50% full, BTW).

The SC is hard to find. Even with pix (from TMC reports in this thread) of an area in a parking lot we use for WholeFoods shopping I could not understand where the SC area was. Had to physically look.

 

[McManX]

Arrived and was not surprised to see it full with a line and valet doing some crowd control. Just needed a quick top off so I went down to the chademo in the garage. Free for the first hour with chargepoint and all available. Definitely faster than waiting in line because as I walked back to my car the same person was still first in line after eating at chipotle.

 

[miimura]

Arrived and was not surprised to see it full with a line and valet doing some crowd control. Just needed a quick top off so I went down to the chademo in the garage. Free for the first hour with chargepoint and all available. Definitely faster than waiting in line because as I walked back to my car the same person was still first in line after eating at chipotle.

Technically, there is no additional time-based fee for the first hour on the ChargePoint fast chargers at this location. You do pay $0.25/kWh for all energy delivered regardless of time.

 

[McManX]

Ahh I see, good to know. Even if I paid still beats waiting in line.

 

[joebiker25]

Stopped by on the way back from San Francisco and found 3 empty stalls plus 2 valets. Super polite guys! Grabbed a Pete's Coffee and got back on the road 15 minutes later!

 

[ecarfan]

Moderator note: the discussion of where to put a new Supercharger location on the 280 in the SF Peninsula has been moved here Where to put a new Supercharger location along the 280 freeway on the SF Peninsula

 

[Zeromus-X]

10:00 PM on a Saturday night (last night) and I still had two cars waiting in front of me. Only one car had anyone waiting in it. Both of the others who came back while I was there had been at the gym or at least walked over from that general area. Worst part is that since it's always full, the charge rate is terrible too -- I peaked at 36kWh and only stayed long enough to get to Vacaville, which took nearly 30 minutes.

 

[sorka]

10:00 PM on a Saturday night (last night) and I still had two cars waiting in front of me. Only one car had anyone waiting in it. Both of the others who came back while I was there had been at the gym or at least walked over from that general area. Worst part is that since it's always full, the charge rate is terrible too -- I peaked at 36kWh and only stayed long enough to get to Vacaville, which took nearly 30 minutes.

With unlimited free supercharging now back for all new cars and existing cars after 1/15, the problem will only continue to get worse.

 

[Zeromus-X]

Lol... I'm here again and there are eleven cars in line plus the ones that are already charging. I can't make it to Vacaville. A detour through Napa I suppose might be quicker than this line.

 

[Joelc]

There is a fitness gym right next door to that SC location.
And too often I've seen people park their Teslas at the SC then walk straight to their morning workout.
Always wondered if they moved their cars after it finished charging or only moved after they finished working out at the gym.

 

[Zeromus-X]

It looks like the valet attendant leaves at 6 so it's only going to get worse.

 

[dandelot]

If those are Fitness Gym people that means they are mostly local doesn't it? So...?

 

[thecloud]

Lol... I'm here again and there are eleven cars in line plus the ones that are already charging. I can't make it to Vacaville. A detour through Napa I suppose might be quicker than this line.

Sunday afternoon is always the worst time at a supercharger, in my experience.

Agree that the lines at San Mateo are likely to get worse, unless Tesla puts some teeth into the idle fees and stops waiving them. They did reiterate the part about idle fees still applying to folks who just were granted free supercharging for life, so I think they're still intending to wield the stick at some point.

 

[HumanGenome]

Pulled up and valet came over to my car and gave me the run down and asked for my keys.

I said no, I am not comfortable with that. His reply: "Get used to it" (verbatim) I did not give him my keys.

First time experiencing these guys and gotta say they are pretty aggressive and rude. I can manage my time charging myself.

 

[ecarfan]

You are quoting the valet verbatim? If so, that's rude. I recommend you inform Tesla.

 

[HumanGenome]

Yeah, I let them know. The person I spoke to had a great idea. Having a little information button on the map about the valet situation would help with some of the confusion for people not used to the valet deal. I am still not comfortable with the entire mandatory valet idea. Had I known about that I would have completely avoided this supercharger and gone to another supercharger. The Habit burger and proximity to Whole Foods makes this a really tempting pit stop

 

[McManX]

Yeah, I let them know. The person I spoke to had a great idea. Having a little information button on the map about the valet situation would help with some of the confusion for people not used to the valet deal. I am still not comfortable with the entire mandatory valet idea. Had I known about that I would have completely avoided this supercharger and gone to another supercharger. The Habit burger and proximity to Whole Foods makes this a really tempting pit stop

Wow didn't realize they were actually valet-info though it was just line management. Whenever I need a quick top off in San Mateo there is always a line so I just plug into the cha de mo in the garage. Much faster than waiting and I'll have enough by the time I finish my burrito/burger.

 

[AMPd]

I was at the San Mateo location and there was 1 valet, he didn't ask me for my key fob.
He didn't even ask me how long I would be charging, he just greeted me as I walked by on my way to peets
There was a line of 4 cars waiting after I plugged in