Safety at charging stations is a top priority for electric vehicle drivers but many stations lack basic safety features, according to a report by the Transportation Energy Institute.
EV drivers surveyed said they want public charging stations in visible areas that are open 24/7 and have multiple charging ports, bright lighting and security cameras. The report included responses from 500 EV drivers across the U.S. and 99 charger site hosts.
About half of the charging stations in the survey have multiple charging ports, 24/7 service and bright lighting around their chargers. About two-thirds of the stations are in highly visible areas and have security cameras.
Safety features and other amenities at chargers are becoming more critical as the U.S. builds out a nationwide public charging network.
The Biden administration has set a goal to make 500,000 public chargers available by 2030. About 64,000 public charging stations with about 174,000 plugs are scattered across the U.S. today, according to the Department of Energy. Tesla, the EV charging leader with about 60 percent of the fast chargers in the U.S., plans to slow the growth of its Supercharger network.
More than half of EV drivers spend 30 minutes to an hour at charging stations, and about a third purchase a snack or a drink while they are charging, according to the report.
The downtime, much longer than a typical gas station stop, makes charge station amenities imperative, John Eichberger, executive director of the Transportation Energy Institute, told Automotive News. Some EV drivers requested charging stations have playgrounds for children, the study found.
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