Why many Australian electric vehicle owners are getting fed up: ‘Selfish’

Australian electric vehicle drivers are increasingly frustrated by other electric vehicle drivers who occupy charging stations for long periods of time.

An electric vehicle owner raised the issue last week when he confronted a BYD driver who had left his car on the charger for more than seven hours at Stocklands Harrisdale in Perth.

“Do BYDs take that long to charge? Almost seven hours according to the Chargefox app,” he wrote on Facebook.

Some social media users expressed their frustration over the “selfish” parking behavior, while others pointed out that “BYD models take almost 10 hours to fully charge.”

Others pointed out to electric car owners that public charging points are meant to be shared.

A Western Australian electric car owner has expressed his displeasure after a BYD driver seized a free charging station at Stocklands Harrisdale in Perth’s south-east over the weekend

More and more Australians are switching to electric vehicles, with 95,289 sold in the year to 30 June 2024.

As the country struggles with a lack of proper infrastructure, the availability of public charging stations remains one of the biggest concerns for motorists.

It is not uncommon for long queues to form at free charging stations in parking garages, hotels, restaurants and shopping centres, but these are generally slower than at paid charging stations.

Queensland motorcyclist Gordon Walker called it “arrogant” to keep the charging stations occupied for longer than necessary.

“I’ve seen it so many times: they’re plugged in, they’re 100 percent fine, and they don’t come back for an hour and a half,” he said. Yeah.

‘They pretend that parking is free, which is annoying.

‘I charge my bike and as soon as it’s charged, I put it outside.’

Another electric car driver shared his experience on Reddit, saying he had previously left a note on a vehicle that was left on the charger for nine hours.

“I get it, sometimes you’re an hour late getting to your car… maybe you can’t always charge at home, that’s fine too,” they wrote.

There are currently no laws prohibiting drivers from using a public electric vehicle charging station for extended periods of time, but drivers are urged to be polite and considerate

‘But public charging points are not for you, don’t leave your car there all night, otherwise charging will take almost twice as long.’

There are currently no laws that prohibit drivers from using a public EV charging station for extended periods of time. However, drivers are asked to be polite and considerate.

“Unless absolutely necessary, it is best not to calculate to 100 percent,” said the NRMA said in April about the etiquette surrounding charging electric vehicles.

‘Top of the list of shortcomings in electric car charging rules are drivers who leave their electric cars unattended at the charger for longer than necessary.

This is also known as “camping” and is a source of great frustration for other EV drivers waiting to use the charger.