Electric vehicle charging stations are continuing to pop up in public spaces, which is fantastic news for drivers who want to save money on refueling their cars while helping keep the planet a little cooler. A handful of bad actors, however, are ruining the appeal and functionality of some new charging stations.
In a post on the r/electricvehicles subreddit, a user detailed a frustrating scene they encountered. "I am so glad that an outlet mall has installed three ChargePoint fast chargers. The problem? A vandal smashed all the displays and broke all the connectors," they explained.
"After I contact the mall's management team, a ChargePoint technical was sent out to repair the chargers. Unfortunately, the vandal came back to smash the displays and break all the connectors again. Now, the mall just put 'out of order' signs and has no immediate plan to repair the chargers."
Fortunately, there is already a vast network of publicly available EV chargers, so shoppers at this particular outlet should have little trouble finding a place to refuel in a pinch. But the issue still remains: A single person has the power to make the charging experience more difficult for numerous people with their actions.
By destroying EV infrastructure, the vandal in question intentionally or inadvertently deterred drivers from switching to electric vehicles — if your impression of EVs is that people wreck public chargers, you're not going to feel more motivated to invest in one as your next car.
These actions subsequently affect both the temperature of the planet and the amount of money that drivers spend on fuel, as EVs are both more environmentally friendly and cheaper to refuel than their gas-guzzling counterparts.
The good news is that EV vandals won't have as much of an impact in the future, as EV infrastructure continues to expand and improve. For example, Germany may soon require that 80% of gas stations also include EV chargers, while 35 American states will receive 500,000 new charging stations from federal funding, and Texas alone is installing 50 new charging stations along its highways.
Users expressed their disappointment in the vandal in the comment section and offered advice on how to combat the problem.
"The mall needs surveillance to protect their assets. People shouldn't be able to just get away with destruction of property because they're afraid of change. Abandoning the chargers gives them a win and will make them more likely to do this elsewhere," one user wrote.
"Some tesla superchargers have camera built on poles inside the locked cabinets. Others should do the same," another user noted.
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