If there is one consistent fact about electric vehicles, it’s that they are unreliable. Now their charging stations have come into question as well.
In Aspen and Glenwood Springs, Colorado, many companies have implemented charging stations in their parking lots. All of them are not fully functional, however.
Chris Lane, a Basalt resident who owns two electric cars, highlighted a couple of issues with the local charging stations: Cables are ripped out, attachments are damaged and screens are cracked.
If there is a mechanical problem with any one of these stations, it automatically shuts down, Aspen Daily News reported.
“I charge in Glenwood, I see problems. I charge in Aspen, I see problems,” Lane said. He mentioned one exception: Tesla’s stations.
“I will say this, the Tesla stations are way better, flawless,” he said.
Companies and stores that have EV stations in their parking lots are expected to take care of them, but this has not always been the case.
The Willits Town Center in Basalt, Colorado, is a prime example. With 11 total stations, five were out of order and two were inaccessible, leaving only four functioning chargers available.
“I see mechanical failures up and down the valley,” Lane said.
Will EV use become widespread in the future?
Despite Tesla’s more consistent reliability, most charging stations in the area have been inoperable. This fact should be concerning for EV owners, especially if they are traveling long distances.
Furthermore, a gas-powered sedan was seen in one of the two parking spaces in front of an EV station on July 10. The second spot, as Aspen Daily News wrote, was a handicapped space, “creating confusion as to whether it could be used for charging for a driver who wasn’t handicapped.”
So even when the EV stations work, someone might park their gas car in front of it, preventing EV owners from charging. This is another indication that buying an electric car is inefficient and inconvenient in the long run.
Philip Jeffreys, SkiCo director of housing development, described the local charging station conditions as a sort of “Wild West.” SkiCo owns 12 charging stations, which roughly make up 26 percent of all spaces in the company’s private parking lot.
In addition to slow recharge times and long lines, this incident demonstrates yet another EV technology failure … and it’s not just in Colorado.
In San Francisco alone, 23 percent of EV stations were not functional of the 657 plugs studied. The study excluded Tesla’s charging stations.
It sure seems like electric vehicles will not become the future of driving, based on this ongoing trend.
Despite the left’s political efforts in advocating for widespread EV use, the future is not going green anytime soon.
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