Growing up, I vividly remember vacations in the family car in Florida. As soon as we crossed the state line, I could see my father’s smile widen as we entered his happy place. We were clearly a gulf coast vacationing family. However, we once took a trip to Disney World, a rite of passage for many American families and experience. That trip required us to travel Florida’s Turnpike. My sister and I asked, “Dad, must we pay to use this road?”.

My father talked about turnpikes, tolls, and the places inside the Turnpike where you could stop to get gas, food, and other amenities without paying the exit toll. Now driving an electric vehicle brought me back to that conversation along Florida’s Turnpike. The engineers of the 50s built an integrated experience for travelers alongside the roadway at the time, capitalizing on the fact that long-distance drivers want to do four things when they stop:

• Get energy
• Get something to eat
• Get something to drink
• Use the restroom

With the gasoline-powered vehicle, all of this is transparent, as we’ve had decades of building gas stations with convenience stores. With electric vehicles, it’s a patchwork of charging stations in all sorts of places. EV drivers charge in background, passive, and active charging.

Many EV drivers do most of their charging at home in the background. When not driving their vehicle, EV owners plug into their home’s electrical system, pulling power to charge the car. This consumption is then reflected on the home’s electrical bill sent every month. The EV then leaves home every day with a full charge.

As more charging stations are built out in places like office parks, shopping malls, and other destinations, passive charging starts to shine. For example, if I’m going to spend 45 minutes at a grocery store, I could plug into a charging station with an electric vehicle rather than going to a gas station using a conventional automobile. I could passively use that time, offsetting the need to get energy somewhere else.

Lastly, EV owners must actively charge when forward progress is prevented without energy. On my last road trip to Vancouver, British Columbia I was met with a patchwork of charging stations with very different levels of amenities. Sometimes, there wasn’t a place to eat. Other times, there wasn’t a place to use the restroom. And sometimes, yes, the charging station could not charge my vehicle.

Electrify America has had its share of bumps and challenges rolling out a charging network nationwide. The reliability of EA chargers has been in the mid-70 % range, which is a far cry from Tesla’s high 90s. However, when Electrify America introduced its flagship charging station in San Francisco, I was curious to check it out. Nestled right next to Interstate 80 in downtown San Francisco, it seemed to be in the right location for active charging.

Upon driving in, I was instantly impressed. The charging station was clean and modern and had the fastest chargers throughout the charging station. The building had restrooms, vending machines, sitting areas, and a conference room. I’m unsure about the use case for the conference room, but I give them credit for trying new ideas. The charging station also had free Wi-Fi as well. All of this was at a price point commensurate with other charging stations in the area. I’m curious about the financial model for this charging station as it was a clear step above any charging station I’ve seen to date.

If you are in the area, check it out. I’d love to hear your experience in the comments.