Over 860 Public EV Chargers Operating At Sheetz & WaWa

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In recent days, those of us who follow public EV charger installations have seen some encouraging news. In particular, mainstream retailers such as Walmart and Kroger stores will install thousands of EV fast chargers. Having more public fast chargers available at popular retail sites means EV drivers can charge while they shop, charge at a convenient location, or wait inside while charging and sit down to rest because some of these retailers have coffee shops, a mini-restaurant, or just some tables and chairs without service.

Long-distance travelers can stop and charge at a familiar store which they might find reassuring rather than charging at an isolated site away from other people. About ten months ago, I conducted an interview with Mercedes about how it planned to build out its fast public charging network in Texas, including at mainstream retail sites such as Starbucks. Yesterday, a fresh article about public EV chargers caught my eye. It also is about mainstream retail outlets providing their own charging options — in this case, Sheetz and WaWa.

“The two chains offer a place to plug in at roughly 10 percent of their locations. Wawa has installed more than 210 chargers, while Sheetz provides more than 650 at 95 locations that have logged more than 2 million sessions.” The total number of public chargers at these locations is over 860.

Providing EV drivers with clean, secure charging sites with 24/7 access meets their expectations. Having onsite restrooms and food and beverages helps too, which is why these mainstream retailers are logical choices for charging sites.

“Charles Gerena, a lead organizer of the advocacy organization Drive Electric RVA, rarely visits a public charger in his Chevy Bolt. But on longer trips, he’s noticed more opportunities to plug in, especially in rural areas where fast charging was once scarce. On a recent road trip to Virginia Beach in his wife’s Ford Mustang Mach-E, he took advantage of the car’s ability to tap the Tesla Supercharger network and used the PlugShare app to find a reliable station — at a Wawa.”

Electric vehicles cannot be separated from EV charging technology, which is why these positive EV charging news stories matter. EV charging success is EV success. Another reason is that there is a steady flow of overly negative news about electric vehicles and outright incorrect and deliberately misleading information about EVs on social media. Electric vehicles have many benefits gas and diesel vehicles do not. Though, at the moment, there may not be much public awareness of how EVs are superior vehicles.

It is worth noting that Walmart, Kroger, Sheetz, and WaWa may have more public EV chargers available and planned than is generally known by non-EV drivers who aren’t up to speed about the true number of EV chargers.