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To Charge or Not to Charge: ‘It’s the Range Anxiety’


By Astrid Ambroziak


It has been a hot day in LA. Temperatures have been hov-


ering around 100. Even the beaches have been in the mid-90s. On days like this, it’s perfect to go for a swim in the ocean or simply stay indoors in the air-conditioning. But I have some shopping to do. I fill up my truck with gasoline


and head formyshopping adventure. I am looking forward to finding something special for my friend Debra – that is, until I get to the mall’s parking garage and see spaces reserved for electric vehicles (EVs). Immediately, my enthusiasm and excitement vanish and get replaced by indignation. It seems that every place I go late-


ly, I see some special privileges given to folks who chose to own and drive electric cars or hybrids. I get on the freeway and see single drivers in the carpool lanes because they are in an EV. I read the newspaper and see the government giving huge tax breaks to those who chose to purchase a new Leaf, Volt or a Fisker Karma. I understand about the tax incen-


RESERVED PARKING


ELECTRIC VEHICLES ONLY


tive for the latter. After all, if you’re spending about $100,000 on a car, you better get something back from the government. Basical- ly, you get a plug-in car, and you can feel like a king; you get VIP status. And then you even might be invited to be a master of cer- emonies at a ribbon cutting for a new charging station atMalibu Country Mart. Yes, buy and drive an EV and you are a royal. For a person who drives a six-


year-old Explorer with less than 12,000 miles on it, all those perks for EV drivers make me feel like a sec- ond-class citizen. And at 6-foot-tall and in great shape, I never feel sub- servient to anyone. I keep thinking I ought to be


thankful that I don’t drink. Because if I lived in New Hampshire and want- ed to go to one particular liquor store, I would have to park in the Siberia of its parking lot. My parking space would be a mile away past the EV spaces and then past the handicap spaces. Yes, in that mega liquor store’s lot, electric vehi- cle drivers get to park closer than drivers with disabilities. I am not surprised. The plug-in car drivers must be incapable


With the power out, I wonder how the superior parker and diamond lane EV driver feels now.


than 100 miles. In actuality, though, the Honda Fit EV is expected to have a range of 70 miles, which is similar to that of the Nissan Leaf. Is that why more and more


charging stations are being built, so that those few cousins of actor-con- servationist Ed Begley Jr. can be appeased and feel better about themselves? At the mall, I find a gift and


leave the parking garage. Yet, the feeling of being a plebeian because I’m not driving an EV lingers until I get home – because suddenly, the power goes out. My gasoline-guzzling Explorer


turns into Cinderella’s carriage. I have a full tank of gas, and I am very happy at this moment to be dependent on Middle Eastern oil. I might worry about the charge on my cellphone, but in the worst case, I can go to my garage and recharge it in my car. With the power out, I wonder


how the superior parker and dia- mond lane EV driver feels now. Has his charge-range anxiety increased?


What if the power will be off for six days like it was in some places in Rhode Island after Hurricane Irene? How is the plug-in driver going to get to Whole Foods or to his law office? Perhaps that $2,500 rebate he received from Sacramento for


the purchase of his Volt can be spent on the purchase of a bike? And then getting a financial incentive for driving less, instead of for what we drive, can make sense. Most likely the Leaf driver has to


spend the state rebate money on installing his own personal charging station at home – of course, only if he is a house owner. Home EV chargers that cost $1,000 to $2,500 before gov- ernment incentives, plus the setup costs of $500 to $2,000, can be tackled only by those who have private garages. Renters and condo owners


are out of luck here, unless they charge their plug-in cars at pub- lic EV charging stations, at which, until there is a greater demand, they will be able to juice up those cars for free. It seems to me that we live in a day and age where Shake-


of clear thinking and, hence, going nuts with “charge-range anxi- ety.” After all, most EVs can take you for a ride that is no more


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speare’s question “to be or not to be” ought to be changed to “to charge or not to charge.” The word “charge” is ubiquitous, be it


Continued on Page 34 Parking Today www.parkingtoday.com


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