[Driveelectric_ev]

Hi all, thank you for letting me join this community. Have you heard of EVCS? They operate here in LA but have locations in Oregon, Washington, and the Bay Area.

I just recently got one of their ads and signed up for their unlimited subscription plan and I've been pleasantly surprised by it.

I believe they now own the West Coast Electric Highway previously owned by Webasto and charging here is free while they upgrade the network to new tritium chargers.

It's free for the first 30 days and are growing their network quite rapidly. Definitely something to monitor as charging infrastructure continues to grow. Let me know what you think.

Unlimited EV Charging. Monthly Subscriptions Plans | EVCS

 

[desiv]

I used them a LOT when I had my Leaf... Unfortunately, here in Oregon (at least where I am), most of their units are still Chademo and L2 only, so I really don't use them with my Bolt. I did hear they were adding CCS tho... Haven't checked in a while...

 

[Driveelectric_ev]

Yeah they are adding CCS - I found the press release on their website West Coast Electric Highway Project Charges Ahead as EVCS Adds Stations.

Did you use them through pay as you go or were you a Webasto subscriber?

 

[desiv]

Did you use them through pay as you go or were you a Webasto subscriber?

I was just a subscriber... $20/month for unlimited QCs. Allowed me to go electric with my Leaf when I did. As I lost some range and in colder weather, I needed to stop in the middle of my commute for a charge, but there was a WCEH station right there I could use. Worked great! Stopped in the morning and charged while getting a hot chocolate at the store, and then again on the way home while I checked some work e-mail. ;-)

 

[Driveelectric_ev]

I was just a subscriber... $20/month for unlimited QCs. Allowed me to go electric with my Leaf when I did. As I lost some range and in colder weather, I needed to stop in the middle of my commute for a charge, but there was a WCEH station right there I could use. Worked great! Stopped in the morning and charged while getting a hot chocolate at the store, and then again on the way home while I checked some work e-mail. ;-)

Wow very cool! So I assume you will renew subscription with them once the upgrades are made and charging goes back to paid?

 

[desiv]

Wow very cool! So I assume you will renew subscription with them once the upgrades are made and charging goes back to paid?

Probably... I mean, I have only ever had to QC my Bolt a handful of times in the last 4 years...
But if it is still only$20/month and I can QC when I am out in Oregon... That'd probably be worth it to me to re-activate...

 

[Driveelectric_ev]

Probably... I mean, I have only ever had to QC my Bolt a handful of times in the last 4 years...
But if it is still only$20/month and I can QC when I am out in Oregon... That'd probably be worth it to me to re-activate...

Gotcha, thank you for your reply!

 

[desiv]

Gotcha, thank you for your reply!

No prob!

In fact, I kept my subscription going for over a year after I went from the Leaf to the Bolt, even tho I wasn't using it. I did that mostly to support the network, and was watching for hints for CSS support.
I only stopped my subscription when my card expired and there was a glitch on the site trying to get it swapped over to a new card.
I loved the WCEH... Even when there was a glitch with the charging, they were great at answering the phone and restarting a unit to kick it free. Great service...
I'm sure I'll be re-connecting soon...

 

[greendave]

If you do a lot of public charging (I.e. don’t charge at home) I suppose it makes sense, but $50/mo will get you a fair amount at regular prices.

 

[cwerdna]

I've heard of them. Earlier on, their transition of the WCEH in WA and maybe Oregon from Webasto (was Aerovironment) DC FCs to EVCS was a disaster to say the least (I know some people in WA).

I didn't even know they existed in the SF Bay Area. In checking Find EV Charging Stations Near You | EV Charging Station Map, I can see why. Everything I see in the South Bay is "coming soon". So, no wonder I didn't know they "existed" here. Seems totally useless to me, so far.

 

[atc98092]

Probably... I mean, I have only ever had to QC my Bolt a handful of times in the last 4 years...
But if it is still only$20/month and I can QC when I am out in Oregon... That'd probably be worth it to me to re-activate...

Nope, try $50 per month.

 

[desiv]

Nope, try $50 per month.

I was quoting what it was when I was a member... I can see now it's gone up a bit since then. ;-)

 

[atc98092]

I was quoting what it was when I was a member... I can see now it's gone up a bit since then. ;-)

Yeah, you said "if", so I went back and checked their page. I can't see it working for me personally, mostly because I rarely would need to use DCFC but also there's no station within 50 miles of my home. And their charger locator map needs work. When I enter my zip code, it says the station in Blaine WA is my nearest location, saying it's 16 miles away. However, Blaine is on the Canadian border, and more like 140 miles from my home. Their map places it in Tacoma, not even close. And to make it worse, they only list Level 2 charging stations there.

 

[desiv]

I can't see it working for me personally, mostly because I rarely would need to use DCFC but also there's no station within 50 miles of my home.

It brings up that same question about Fast Charging...
If you have a car with enough range and rarely need fast charging, you're probably better off paying more for fast charging when it happens.
However, if you are someone who needs more frequent fast charging (live in a city/have an apartment), you'll want to pay less for fast charging.
As a result, I think plans like this are probably a great idea for those who can use it...

I'm OK with paying more for electricity than gas when I travel, because I travel so rarely, I am still ahead of the game. ;-)

And long term, I can even maybe see some of these charging networks making some cross-network deals for those subscribers one one network who are in the area of another network. I think that will take awhile to work out tho...