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EA's problems have been called out and documented frequently. Even the new ones that replaced the Signet versions had issues of not working in the cold. It's a huge problem and the competitors usually don't offer fast enough alternatives.

 

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Most probably the stations that are completely offline are undergoing updates to the new generation. The new ones are much better and worth the wait.

The new units have actually not been working well in the cold. And when I say not working well I meean not working at all. It's depressing.

 

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Oh and don't get me started on the Tesla Y charging to 100% next to me...

Is the Tesla blocking anyone from charging? Is the driver about to embark on a long trip? 100% full does have valid use cases, but if they're not blocking someone who cares?

 

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I doubt any chargers will free up simply by eliminating the "free" tier. As EVs become more common the availability will decrease at the current rate of things.

I wouldn't go so far as to say EA doesn't care. But think about their business environment. They had a huge influx of cash that they could spend from the VW mess. They also made deals with all these EV manufacturers to provide free charging, thus generating more income. They are not yet generating most of their income from charging fees. So whether the units are working or not doesn't impact their bottom line. I'm glad to see them upgrading units because that will benefit everyone in the future. Then they just have to get rid of all these "free" deals. That will free up chargers, and generate income that will be dependent on their performance.

 

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Yes. But currently with all these free deals out there, plenty of people occupy chargers near their homes to fill up rather than doing so at home. This is particularly true for chargers at shopping centers. What's most galling about that is these are people with expensive cars, who are killing 30 minutes of their time to save maybe $5-10. It's the same psychology with buying gas (which people are very price sensitive about). Well to do people will drive out of their way to reach a gas station and save 5 cents/gallon -- a whole dollar saved on a fill up. The behavior is weird, but is well known.

I get what you're saying...I think. But I don't think this is a freetard situation. It's cashing in on the enticement to purchase an EV bundled with a huge payout from a mega corporation got caught lying and scaming the government and customers out of millions? of dollars. Without those two I doubt we would see the DC fast charging footprint we see today.

Personally I'm glad that I don't have to be limited to 50kW (fast) charging at the likes of EVGo.