I've recently become one of the "Elite" users of electric car charger stations. Depending on where you live, you may have a great many stations or almost none. Where I live in the San Francisco South Bay area, there are literally thousands of charging stations. As there are many tech companies in the area, and these companies want to foster the electric car ideal, they have installed many charge stations. Apple and Google are have the most, nearly each building they have, has at least 4 charge stations.
But how would I know where these stations are? I've been using the EV Charging Locator app by FleetCarma. Although there are several apps available that compete with the EV Charging Locator app, none truly compare.
As far as I am currently aware, there are only two major vehicle charger networks available. The ChargePoint network by Coulomb Technologies and the Blink network by the Car Charging Group. Although the Blink network is certainly more recognized as it came out with guns blazing, it has not fared well. The ChargePoint network however is practically ubiquitous with charger stations. Although they are not flashy and large, they are nearly everywhere.
Both ChargePoint and Blink have their own apps and websites to lead users to local charge stations. But the EV Charging Locator has listings for both and unlike the other two apps, actually gives some idea of the state of the charger.
It's possible to search, find the nearest, and add a charging station with the app. Each indicator isn't always up-to-date, but fortunately there still are not a huge number of EV's out there. Although I can't imagine how messy this map screen will become once they are ubiquitous as home sockets. Still, it's nice to live in the SF Bay Area where I am sure that there is always a nearby and open station.
Check out the app on Google Play
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