6 Reasons Why America Needs EVCS

EVCS has come a long way over a short time. In less than three years, we’ve taken a vision by company co-founders Gustavo Occhiuzzo and Ian Vishnevsky – one that incentivizes responsible mobility through increased access to charging infrastructure – and built upon it. We’ve partnered with state and local DOTs, developed advanced management software, pioneered affordable subscription charging plans, streamlined project installation processes, and reduced financial downsides while maximizing upsides for site owners, just to name a few.

These momentous strides have, incidentally, given us the opportunity to assess America’s transportation sector in real detail, allowing us greater insight into why the EVCS vision is so crucial. As such, here are six of the biggest reasons why we feel America needs us:

1. An Increased Carbon Footprint

According to the EPA, global carbon output resulting from fossil fuel combustion contributed to 78% of total greenhouse gas emissions between 1970 and 2011, leading to damaging effects on the planet’s climate. Not only is America responsible for 15% of this output, which it can curb directly, but it also serves as a thought leader in green technology that can motivate the other 85% to make changes. And EVCS is one of the key drivers of this thought leadership in the EV space.

2. Consumers Want Sustainable Products

Barron’s recently reported on a study by IBM and the National Retail Foundation, which found almost 70% of US and Canadian consumers believe sustainability is important when choosing a brand. Moreover, the same percentage said they would pay a premium for such brands. It’s clear from this that there’s an accelerating trend toward eco-friendly lifestyles; as such, EVCS will continue its campaign of promoting responsible mobility so that more consumers consider EV adoption.

3. The Need for Convenience and Control

A white paper on ecommerce published by First Data sought to address the question, “What Do Consumers Really Want?” The answer? “Mobile commerce appears to support consumers’ thirst for universal convenience… Control [of this commerce] comes from access to information for decision-making, and consumers now rely on real-time data wherever they are.” This is why EVCS developed state-of-the-art software that gives both site hosts and drivers more dominion over charging management while also simplifying their user experience.

4. Customer Service is Lacking

Sadly, customer service ain’t what it used to be. Per Forbes, the NewVoiceMedia 2018 “Serial Switchers” report revealed that lousy customer service cost businesses over $75 billion in lost revenue that year, an increase of $13 billion from 2016. Especially in an emerging market like electrified transit where new technologies will invariably generate questions, EVCS has made customer service a cornerstone of its operation. Our goal is to set the industry standard for positive customer experience.

5. Road Travel Increases in Post-COVID World

Americans love to travel, but COVID has significantly impacted their ability to fly to far-off lands. As a result, “huge numbers of Americans are heading out to drivable destinations,” says a recent article in Travel + Leisure. Our belief in maximizing travel experiences while minimizing our collective carbon footprint was evident in our purchase of the WCEH, but the pandemic gave us a real opportunity to boost the appeal of eco-friendly travel as we began upgrading charging infrastructure at top vacation spots across the Pacific Northwest. We next plan to continue this trend in other parts of the US.

6. Americans Are Hurting

A Pew Research survey from last September found that a quarter of American adults have had trouble paying their bills since the start of the pandemic and about one-third have had reduced hours or taken pay cuts. We believe that our mission of creating greater access to charging infrastructure will increase EV adoption, resulting in a reduction of transportation-related costs like vehicle pricing and fueling fees when Americans need it most since, according to a recent Ascent study, such costs account for 16% of average US household expenses (second only to housing).

Here are links to the reports and studies mentioned in this blog:

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data

https://www.barrons.com/articles/two-thirds-of-north-americans-prefer-eco-friendly-brands-study-finds-51578661728

https://www.firstdata.com/downloads/thought-leadership/Consumer-Payment-Insights-Consumers-Going-Mobile-WP.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2018/05/17/businesses-lose-75-billion-due-to-poor-customer-service/?sh=35b2df7b16f9

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/road-trips/american-road-trip-during-coronavirus

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/09/24/economic-fallout-from-covid-19-continues-to-hit-lower-income-americans-the-hardest/

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/average-monthly-expenses/

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Navigating California’s New EV Mandate

California’s going all in on electric. On August 25th, Governor Gavin Newsom made a very important announcement concerning the future of transportation in the Golden State: “We can solve this climate crisis if we focus on the big, bold steps necessary to cut pollution. California now has a groundbreaking, world-leading plan to achieve 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035.” Big and bold, indeed. And while highly encouraging, it brings up a number of questions moving forward.

How EVCS is Repairing Reliability Concerns

One of the biggest concerns among EV drivers today is the reliability of public chargers. One recent survey from the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley claims as many as 23% of public chargers in the Bay Area alone are, as Wired sums up, “nonfunctioning at any given time, stymied by broken screens, shoddy credit card or payment systems, network connection failures, or damaged plugs.” And that’s in a locale prioritizing the conversion to electric. Testimony from motorists seems to corroborate these findings. A CEC survey of 1,290 EV drivers found that fully 60% had experienced damaged or inoperable chargers, while almost half needed assistance from customer service. We find this wholly unacceptable and have taken measures to ensure that chargers in the EVCS network rise to the standard of operability our customers expect. Here are a few ways we’re doing that:

Installation of the Month (July 2022): Kenwood Inn & Spa

A key focus for us over the last several years has been the installation of additional chargers at holiday hot spots, tourist destinations, and other key points of interest. Not only will it help dispel long-range travel anxiety among many new EV drivers, but it will also lead to a significant reduction in carbon emissions otherwise generated by gas-guzzlers during peak vacation seasons. Moreover, our egalitarian approach to site selection means we’re just as likely to install a charger at a McDonald’s as we are at a Morton’s since we understand the value in catering to a broad clientele. However, higher net worth individuals continue to drive EV sales in the US (a June 2021 Fuels Institute study specifies middle-aged males with household incomes over $100,000), so catering to venues that offer a luxury experience will encourage even greater participation by this group while serving as a bellwether for lower-income drivers who are attracted to the idea of electric mobility as a symbol of status.

Mexico to Canada EV Road Trip: EVCS Interview

We sat down with EV owner and enthusiast Anthony Williams, a 60-year-old business owner from San Diego, who recently commemorated the 10-year anniversary of his first trans-American road trip in an EV by retracing the same route to see what had changed in the world of EV fast charging, for better or for worse. Below are some of his insights and feedback.

Installation of the Month (June 2022): KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center

“For us, healthcare is not only about caring for our patients, but also about investing in the people who live in our communities.” These are the words emblazoned across the home page of the KPC Anaheim Global Medical Center’s website. Facilities like these are attractive partners for us because, like us, their goal is the betterment of humanity. In fact, just replace “healthcare” with “electric mobility” and “patients” with “planet,” and you have the EVCS mission statement in a nutshell. Allying with kindred spirits creates a natural synergy for us through the sharing of core values like customer service and an improved quality of life. Imagine then our excitement when KPC decided to install four of our newest DC fast chargers on their Anaheim property, giving us the opportunity to continue expanding our network southward.