EV Charging on journeys . Can’t we have just ONE app for the lot?

[WilmaFlintstone1]

So I’ve just done my longest journey in a Nissan Leaf. I have the Zapmap app and plotted out where I could charge as needed BUT…..

every bloody charger I’ve come across is a different company with a different app which I need to register on.

Got to my destination and had around 86 miles left. Went to one charging point to find the connector doesn’t fit my car. Went to another (another drive away) and found a BP pulse one….downloaded app and registered to find it won’t connect as they need 24hrs to properly register me.

I am autistic so promptly phoned my DH in a full on meltdown as I was panicking. He got ranty crying me….poor sod.
I’m now at a Tesco using pod point but it’s not rapid charging. Been sat here for an hour in the hope it’ll get me up to enough to get to my meeting tomorrow and then home.

i was so close to going home and calling out my rescue company if I run out of juice.

Car due to be replaced this year and blimey….despite loving the environmental benefits of EVs I’m on the point of going back to petrol.

Seriously, one app for the lot with linked payment cards…is it too much to ask?

Totally agree!
also, be careful at Tesco in case you fall foul of their free parking restrictions. You might need to register your vehicle at customer services if you’re there too long

Totally agree. All the different apps are so annoying.

Completely agree. If the gov wants people to switch to electric to help reach the uk’s emissions targets then it needs to regulate to make it easy for people. The market is not going to solve this (at least not quickly).

There are several companies that will give you a card that covers lots of charging companies. Chargemap, Electroverse and Plugshare cover most of the major ev chargers across Europe.
We use chargemap and electroverse and it saves a lot of registering for different chargers. Although some chargers will now let you tap a credit card also.

I hate Pod Point!! What’s the point of slow chargers, unless you’re at home?!!

Oh my gosh don't get me started! It drives me mad all the apps. I think I've downloaded every single one but then I'll come across another. Or log in to one I haven't used for a while and can't remember the password, or the debit card is expired. It ends up taking longer to log in to the app than it does to charge!!

Also the cost of rapid charging is ridiculous now!!

Also... Petrol cars who park in supermarket charging spaces... Grrrr... I might go park up outside the only available petrol pump for an hour and see how you like it!!!

All in all sometimes I wish I had a hybrid.

Yes OP this is my biggest gripe with EVs. We got an EV via husband's work scheme. The car itself was great and cost barely anything to charge... At home. We had to return the car after 6 months as husband left that job but it might have been the most stressful 6 months of driving I've ever experienced. I counted my apps and I have 9 if you include Zapmap. I got stuck many times praying I make it to my destination/another charge point because:

1. the singular charge point available at the location wasn't working/already in use
2. Electroverse claimed I could pay through it but it came up with an error and wouldn't charge
3. the nearest charge point was actually inside a business, e.g. a car dealership or an office building's private car park
4. an on-street charge point didn't have a space marked specifically for EV charging so there were just cars parked in front of it
5. didn't realise the charge point was a slow charge and I only got 16% after 1.5 hours (we went for lunch thinking we were sorted for the drive home)

The only reliable fast charge points I've used tbh were BP and Shell... But they were spenny.

When we got our next car we went for a hybrid instead. As much as I liked the actual car and the environmental side of things, I doubt I'll get another EV until the government fixes the infrastructure and makes charge point companies consolidate onto one app at the very least. I spoke to my friend who works in climate policy, the reason we don't already have this bare minimum is because the Tories were happy to let competing companies set their own things up however they wanted so the companies didn't need to standardise, and now Labour don't think it's a priority because there's "too much red tape" to deal with.

Wow, this is making me glad I can't afford a new car, electric or otherwise. I've often wondered how long it takes to charge them and what you do in the meantime.

I've only once had to download an app to charge. Can't you just tap your contactless card ? I've done this on BP pulse.

One fast charge point I've used was in a pub car park and was planned into the journey for a lunch break.

The ones in petrol stations I've plugged in, gone into the petrol station shop, bought myself a hot drink and a snack, then got back into my car to wait the 20-30 mins to get enough power for continuing a journey. This has actually been an issue before where a petrol station only had one charger by the air and water pumps, and there was a bloke already plugged in. I had to pull up in an awkward way to not block people getting air/water and wait him out, watched him to get an idea how long I'd be waiting, saw him eat a pot noodle and a steak bake type thing... Couldn't fault him for it since it was the same thing I was going to have to do when it was my turn, but that was a fun 45 mins or so...

@FuzzyYellowChickenI have a plug in hybrid and it’s great. All my local journeys are done using the battery and I don’t have to worry about not being able to charge on longer journeys.