Just not possible. 289 miles on I-90. On Plugshare there are NO [read: 0] DCFC CCS chargers between Albany and Buffalo. Not even if you go off I-90 many miles. NYS is a member of the ZEV task force. https://www.zevstates.us/about-us/ How can they be this far behind on basic DCFC buildout on key routes? Even my state, dysfunctional MA, finally has DCFC at I-90 at service plazas. And they're still free [when they aren't broken or ICE'd because the parking spot isn't painted "for EV only"]. Anyone have any inside info on why? This is 2019...
Can't Bolt from Albany to Buffalo
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Specifically, you can't go using CCS only. A guy in a MiEV took a 5,000+ mile trip around the country. A friend drove his Bolt EV across Canada and back.
Doing a couple hour stopover in Syracuse would make it quite doable, but it won't be a fast trip until someone installs some DCFC along the route.
As for why NY is so far behind, I'm not sure. I do recall that New York State is a bit sparse in the western portion of the state. Electrify America is building out some DCFC in the area, but it looks like they haven't gotten to that route yet. Maybe you could put some suggestions in with EVgo and talk to some of the businesses along that route? Maybe you could speak to your state representatives and find out why they are so far behind?
Doing a couple hour stopover in Syracuse would make it quite doable, but it won't be a fast trip until someone installs some DCFC along the route.
As for why NY is so far behind, I'm not sure. I do recall that New York State is a bit sparse in the western portion of the state. Electrify America is building out some DCFC in the area, but it looks like they haven't gotten to that route yet. Maybe you could put some suggestions in with EVgo and talk to some of the businesses along that route? Maybe you could speak to your state representatives and find out why they are so far behind?
We've a weird gap here starting a bit N of Seattle and going all the way to Vancouver BC, on I-90 which is near as I-95 for the west coast as you'll find. With Vancouver up north the road is not sparsely traveled.
But even while it's 2019, it's also early innings. The way the "system" (hardly worthy of the name) is being built out means massively inefficient replication of effort for relatively tiny gain. As the invisible (also blind, mindless) hand of the market gropes its way through a lot of money things will improve. It happened for gasoline (and really when you step back and think about it, how absurd gasoline really is as a consumer product) and it'll happen for this equipment.
But even while it's 2019, it's also early innings. The way the "system" (hardly worthy of the name) is being built out means massively inefficient replication of effort for relatively tiny gain. As the invisible (also blind, mindless) hand of the market gropes its way through a lot of money things will improve. It happened for gasoline (and really when you step back and think about it, how absurd gasoline really is as a consumer product) and it'll happen for this equipment.
Yeah, gallen , you could do it by pushing the Bolt too! It doesn't matter if it is *practical* or *convenient*, just that you can do it while chanting "Bolt, Bolt, Bolt" the whole way!
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Charging stations are being added all along the Thruway, but they haven’t gotten to the Albany- Buffalo sections yet.
This is New York. Our governor makes a lot of promises. Lots and lots. If only I could fuel-up on promises.
On Long Island, with one of the highest utility costs in the nation at around 22-cents per kw, there is still no off-peak EV charging rate, and no smart electric meters.
Rumor has it that the local utility, PSEG-LI, may offer a 2-cent per kw discount for EV charging. Maybe.
Good for you, delighted for you, but I dearly hope this thread doesn't turn into "all that" again. Boring and (even worse) unproductive.
I noticed your Tesla and your Bolt are both '17 … which one did you buy first, if this is not a secret?
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Yes, because stopping for a two-hour excursion on a trip is the same as pushing a 3,500 lb car down the road.Yeah, gallen , you could do it by pushing the Bolt too! It doesn't matter if it is *practical* or *convenient*, just that you can do it while chanting "Bolt, Bolt, Bolt" the whole way!
Not being able to do something "practically" or "conveniently" is very different than not being able to do that thing at all.
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Right you are, Before leasing my Bolt in June of 2017 I was told "Upstate (90) thruway rest stops would start to have DCFC by the end of the year"
Here it is 2019 and still very lacking in upstate. I have been contacting folks that are working on it but progress is glacial speed
Here is "the plan"
https://www.nypa.gov/innovation/programs/evolveny
and here is a thread where I have posted some status and progress, unfortunately the DCFC @ RG&E in rochester only worked very briefly during "testing" it has yet to go live...
https://www.chevybolt.org/forum/505...te-ny-dc-fast-charging-status.html#post461515
But yes, living in Upstate NY I too have yet to make use of my CCS port, first use will be thanks to EA or RG&E when it finally goes live.
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There are tons of "you can't get there from here" locations - at this moment.
Mine is - you can't get to Dallas from Houston. But that is changing. There is an EA station in Huntsville "under construction", which is 170 miles from Dallas. I'll consider the trip when there is also another DCFC station closer to Dallas (say Corsicana), since I'd prefer not to drive just 80 miles away from me (rather charge from 20-80% than from 65-90%).
I did note the nice string of planned EA stations on I-20 headed toward El Paso from Dallas. Progress is being made.
Mine is - you can't get to Dallas from Houston. But that is changing. There is an EA station in Huntsville "under construction", which is 170 miles from Dallas. I'll consider the trip when there is also another DCFC station closer to Dallas (say Corsicana), since I'd prefer not to drive just 80 miles away from me (rather charge from 20-80% than from 65-90%).
I did note the nice string of planned EA stations on I-20 headed toward El Paso from Dallas. Progress is being made.
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It's true even for Teslas, but we're not supposed to talk about that.
Again, for me, the discussions should be broken into categories: #1 . "getting there"; #2 . "getting there quickly"; #3 . "getting there as quickly as an ICE vehicle." The fact that the Bolt EV has transparently enabled us to completely skip #1 and jump directly to #2 is evidence of just how much progress has been made.
Six to eight years ago, EV drivers would be discussing these trips in terms of days. The Bolt EV allows us to discuss these trips in terms of hours. By the time we get to discussing these trips in terms of minutes saved, we probably won't be having these discussions at all.
"There are tons of "you can't get there from here" locations - at this moment."
https://electrek.co/2018/08/10/tesla-supercharger-cover-99-us-population-within-150-miles/
And there you go again bringing Tesla into the discussion.
Could you define "tons" or link your source. The one I have from last August shows only 1% of the continental U.S. is further than 150 miles from a supercharger. Considering the model 3 has a summer range of over 300 miles, that would be an even smaller percentage.
https://electrek.co/2018/08/10/tesla-supercharger-cover-99-us-population-within-150-miles/
And there you go again bringing Tesla into the discussion.
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Distance from a charger doesn’t mean that chargers are available along a planned route of travel.
Let’s say I’m planning a 300 mile trip, and there’s one charger located at the start of my route, and another at the end. Based upon the 150 mile metric I would never be more than 150 miles from a charger, but that wouldn’t be of any help in charging somewhere along the way. Another scenario might have a network of chargers parallel to the route I’m taking, but all located 150 miles out of my way. From a practical perspective, the “150 miles from a charger” metric doesn’t really mean much without consideration of the route being travelled.
Nobody wants to go miles out if their way to charge.
This discussion is about the lack of publically available chargers, and the fragmented networks and inconsistent performance of the chargers that have been set up. Tesla doesn’t have those issues, the Tesla network appears to be much better thought out, more reliable, and more extensive than the public charging infrastructure.
That fact still doesn’t get me from Albany to Buffalo, although it’s nice to know that Tesla owners don’t have this problem.
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Tesla was already brought up in the conversation.
It's great that you're linking to Tesla marketing material, but 99% of the population being within 150 miles (aerial miles?) of a Supercharger doesn't mean anything. Nearly 80% of the population lives with a couple hundred miles of either coast. It's certainly not true for people in the northern Midwest, areas of the Southwest, or Alaska for that matter.
And a 300-mile "gold standard" Tesla doesn't account for a number of Tesla models that see less than 250 miles of real-world range in summer conditions and even less than that in winter conditions. It also doesn't account for a number of aging Teslas that are suffering from battery degradation. It also doesn't account for the ~215 mile range standard battery Model 3 that is supposed to be released sometime this year.
A number of trips I've gone on have taken me to or past destination chargers with regular check ins from Tesla owners who are "just bridging the gap." It's not that there's anything wrong with that, but we do need to be sure that, as EV owners, we make a distinction between what is "convenient" and what is "possible."
Thanks for "the plan"! I actually work for a .org that plays an active role in the ZEV task force. When I pointed out the lack of any CCS on this leg, they looked surprised. Oh well. At least the I-95 corridor Boston to DC is nicely built out. I did that last Nov. and had no problem planning and executing the trip.
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Yeah, given the funds that have gone to EV adoption in NY, and the number of Bolts you now see on the road around here, it is very disappointing that the DCFC deployment has been so slow. We have a great number of public Level 2 in our area, those are easy to find and appear well utilized, but open plugshare, filter on CCS, and zoom into upstate, very discouraging.
As you play a role in the ZEV taskforce, any suggestions for us NY EV drivers on how best to try to accelerate the DCFC infrastructure build out?
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News flash: people own Teslas outside of SoCal. There are 3 owners than have reported their "300 mile summer range" has been effectively halved in the winter. 150 miles of range when the nearest Supercharger is 150 miles away ain't very convenient.
I don't work on that topic - air pollution and health effects is my wheelhouse. I can ask and gently nudge the ZEV team, but not much more...
Originally I had 2 Ford Focus Evs (sold)
I bought the Tesla X first (needed SUV and size for hauling stuff) and the Bolt 7 months later as I liked the Bolt better for day to day local stuff. Both been great so far.
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