Unfortunately, incidents of station vandalism and obstruction threaten to disrupt all of the progress being made on electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
A Redditor shared a frustrating saga involving misused EV charging spots in their community of Bellingham, Washington.
In the post, the Reddit user shared a photo of a parking lot with gas-powered vehicles in EV charging spots. They added that all 12 of the spots are "consistently filled."
A second photo in their post features a sign threatening to tow "unauthorized or improperly parked vehicles." The signs in front of the spots read "Electric Vehicle Parking" with an "Only While Charging" caveat.
This feels like an open-and-shut case as far as reporting the offenders and enforcing the rules. In anger-inducing fashion, it's anything but.
The Redditor said when they reported the cars to the towing company, they said the request had to come from the property manager. Meanwhile, the Redditor said they tried to get the wheels turning there, but management simply ignored their email.
It's encouraging to see more EV charging infrastructure coming to communities nationwide. That trend can help quell drivers' range anxiety while offering a convenient service.
Unfortunately, there are many drivers who seemingly want to make a point of expressing their anti-EV sentiments. There are far too many disturbing stories of EV charging cords being stolen and spots being deliberately blocked.
These stunts collectively can discourage drivers who are weighing the switch to an EV. Driving an EV comes with major benefits like fuel and maintenance savings as well as reducing contributions to air pollution.
🗣️ When you think about owning an EV, what concerns you most about public charging stations?
🔘 Chargers not working 🚫
🔘 Chargers not being available 😥
🔘 Charging being too expensive 💰
🔘 Charging taking too long ⌚
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
The more EVs on the roads, the less reliance on dirty energy that is warming the planet with increasingly devastating consequences. Charging availability is definitely a key to making EVs more palatable to many drivers, so instances like the Redditor's are disheartening to see.
Users on Reddit were frustrated with the original poster's situation and proposed some ideas to help.
One mocked the flawed logic of the drivers illegally parking in the spots, speculating their thought process was "no electric car charging rn, guess i can park here."
"I'd suggest checking to see if the charging company has a phone number listed on the kiosks," another wrote. They added the company "may be interested to know their asset is being blocked at all times" and that they "may even have jurisdiction to tow the cars."
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
