Accidentally posted this on the 992 Forum 1st time. Rookie mistake…

While waiting for my CT4 to be produced, shipped across and delivered, I’ve been researching routes using ABRP and noted that many of the charging stations are located well off the highways. Below is a letter I sent to the office of Gov Kemp of Georgia with an idea.


’Governor Kemp,
I have purchased an electric car and am looking forward to taking road trips across the great state of Georgia. While there are electric charging stations throughout the state, almost all require exiting off a main highway, sometimes a number of miles to reach the charging station.

I have an thought that may help solve this issue. There are rest stops along all interstate highways, placing charging stations in these rest stops where room is available would allow folks the ability to use the bathroom, get a snack or drink and charge their car. Maybe some of the 1.9 trillion dollar Inflation Reduction Act (which President Biden recently admitted was actually a green new deal bill) money could be used to fund construction.
Thank you for your time and consideration,’


I plan on sending similar letters to the governors of most of the east coast states since I was born and raised in Pennsylvania and plan on visiting family and friends a couple times each year. The idea came from when I was a kid my family traveled on the Pa Turnpike and the rest stops on that highway have sit down restaurants and gas stations all along the route going east to west throughout the state. I might reword the sarcastic Inflation Reduction Act comment since I don’t want to come across as the a$$hole republican.

 

yeah the comment is no value add

 

Be sure to look at plugshare (https://www.plugshare.com/) for charging station locations too. ABRP uses openchargemap (https://openchargemap.org/site) among others for charging station info. Often times plugshare knows about sites that ABRP doesn't. And once in a while, vice-versa. Also ABRP will tend to prioritize high power stations, rather than show everything, since it is trying to create a route with the least time spent charging.

Here in California there are a handful of rest stops with charging stations. For example this one on I-5 near the Oregon border - https://www.plugshare.com/location/264722. It is only two stalls with 62 kW max each. So not really capable of charging a huge volume of EVs.

 

[QUOTE=Psu82Eric;18993301] ... Governor Kemp,
I have purchased an electric car and am looking forward to taking road trips across the great state of Georgia. ../QUOTE]

Returning from Atlanta (to Tallahassee) I almost ran out of power just past Macon. Did not want to go into Macon. The next charging station was at an "agricultural exhibition center" (in the middle of absolutely nowhere.) Fortunately the single charging station was working and baba had not parked his jacked up F150 blocking the chargers. On 1-10 (Tallahassee -Houston) make sure you charge up at 50%. Do not risk 20% or less. Many chargers are EA, with well known "unreliability."

BTW, even though there's a dearth of EV chargers, Georgia will be one of the biggest EV manufactures in America. Rivian, Hyundai KIA.

 

[QUOTE=Dr. G7;18995283]Use Plugshare app and you can find many more EV's along that route. Ask how I know....Macon doesn't have many high speed chargers (most were Chargepoint 7kw ones)...best bet is the EA set of hyper chargers down the road in Forsyth at the Walmart (150kw and 350kw ones!). Again ask how i know. LOL

When someone thinks all things names Superchargers are created equal. Nope!

General Plugshare EV charging around Macon, GA

This is where/what you want...fast 20 min charging on the 350KW EAmerica Chargers. Worked great!

 

[QUOTE=mdrobc1213;19013690]I was going south of Macon.

 

[QUOTE=Dr. G7;19015013]Ah okay...makes sense,

 

I did ~500 miles the other day in my i7 and found the best routine is to go through a drive through, then park/charge while eating. I live in a more rural area and can charge at work (Porsche Dealership) but the major metros had a lot more Electrify America/Chargepoint availability.

 

I normally have to charge my Taycan 2x a week and one of those times I'll charge at one of 2 EA stations by me during my realtor rounds. I'll either have my laptop and do some work or grab some take out and eat while I'm charging.

 

I just finished a 2,300 miles road trip and I found that all the chargers were pretty much close to major highways. Worst case for me was around 3-4 miles off the highway.
Did about 10 fast charging stops and only one had an issue (Plug and Charge didn't initiate and I ended up paying for the charge - EA is refunding it).
All other charges went well except for the typical 350 kW being derated to about 100 kW at some chargers. Overall pretty good experience, the Taycan is a good road trip machine !

 

I did get back a reply from Pa. The standard generic letter below.
From: PA Governor's Office <pagov@iq.pa.gov>
Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2023 4:33 PM
To: ewetherhold@hotmail.com <ewetherhold@hotmail.com>
Subject: Thank you for contacting the Office of Governor Josh Shapiro


Dear Eric:

Thank you for contacting my office about issues facing our Commonwealth. Every day, I make an effort to hear from people across Pennsylvania about the challenges that they face—and I am prepared to do the hard work necessary to make government work for them and to improve people's lives.

I am grateful for your suggestions and please be assured that I will give your views serious consideration. I have always sought to bring different perspectives around the table, and I know that the people's perspectives make me a better Governor and help us to make meaningful progress for everyone in Pennsylvania.

To learn how my administration is working for you, please visit www.governor.pa.gov. You can also receive updates by following me on Twitter and Instagram at @GovernorShapiro and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/governorshapiro/.

All the best,

Governor Josh Shapiro