An electric vehicle driver said she was “scared” of traveling alone across the country as a woman due to the lack of proper infrastructure.
Mere Jans said she felt like a “second-class citizen” when she drove almost 800 kilometers from her home in Ipswich, Queensland, to visit her family in Toronto, New South Wales.
She said she often felt stranded at remote charging stations, which were sometimes dark and lacked basic services such as toilets and mobile reception.
Jans recalled trying to charge his car in the dark without the internet working, which meant he couldn’t connect to a charger through an app.
“This was annoying…it added an hour to my commute because I couldn’t make it work,” he said. yahoo.
Mere Jans (pictured) said she felt like a “second-class citizen” when she drove almost 800 kilometers from her home in Ipswich to visit her family in Toronto.
Mrs Jans asked for an Evie Pass RFID card so she could connect to the chargers without using her phone, but it had not arrived before she left.
Without an Evie card, drivers must download an app to use each charging station.
Fortunately, their MG EV ZS had enough power to get to the next charging station which was in the “middle of nowhere” on the north coast of New South Wales.
Jans said it was “a little scary” being a woman alone, especially since all the nearby stores were closed at the time.
He said chargers were mostly in the back of gas stations near truck stops with no services nearby, which he found “frustrating” given that it takes about half an hour to charge an electric vehicle.
After she shared her experience on Facebook, many others agreed that there is still not enough infrastructure for electric vehicle owners.
“Many need lighting, shelter, garbage containers, window cleaners… Everything you take for granted in a gasoline servo,” said one of them.
“Plugshare helps with down stations and trip planning,” another added.
‘Many regional chargers are out of the way and can be a bit spooky. I plan my trips to recharge only during the day.’
Jans urges other women to be prepared and plan ahead so they don’t have to charge their car late at night.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for EV drivers because he said there are huge benefits to driving the vehicle.
Jans said charging costs ranged from 25 to 60 cents per kilowatt and his return trip only cost $150, which is just a fraction of the price a driver would pay for gas.
He also said drivers check in at charging stations so other drivers can see if they are being used before arriving.
The NRMA is understood to have added additional lighting and surveillance cameras to make its regional charging sites safer.
He added that the entire EV community is trying to help each other.
Ross De Rango, head of energy and infrastructure at the Electric Vehicle Council, said grants for public charging sites often included additional funding for utilities and lighting.
He said the government and the electric vehicle industry needed to work together to ensure charging stations were built in a timely manner close to services because that is what drivers expected.
An NRMA spokesperson also said driver safety is their top priority.
He said some chargers need to be built in more remote locations, but the company aims to build its electric vehicle chargers near utilities and local businesses.
The NRMA is understood to have added additional lighting and surveillance cameras to make its regional charging sites safer.