As I ascended the hill on the way to Pleasanton yesterday, I looked down at my range indicator and saw that it might be a little risky making it home on the return trip. The number was in the 20’s, and with the climb back, I got a little nervous. The solution? Public charging!

Because I’ve been organized around charging at work and occasionally at home, I haven’t really used public chargers. But I was set up for it, and that’s what I did.

First, I consulted the Plugshare app on my phone. It showed me two options within a couple blocks of my brunch destination.

I pulled in behind the old Library on Main Street, and there was a single Chargepoint station, ready for me.

I backed in, and plugged in and that was that. With Plugshare, I was able to check in, and even post a photo of Fidelio getting his electricity.

We had a relaxed brunch at Nonni’s Bistro, a favorite destination, and walked around a bit in downtown Pleasanton, a place that deserves its name. I checked the progress of my charge using the ChargePoint app. Notice at the bottom, the progress–miles of charge–is displayed.

By the time I got back to the car, it was 100% charged. Now that’s the way it’s supposed to work. And it cost me $1.00 an hour.

It was a happy story, but I wondered what would have happened if the charger was occupied? What if there wasn’t one nearby? We need to build out the infrastructure as more and more EVs hit the roads, just for this purpose. Charging at home and at work is great, but sometimes you need it on-the-go.