ICE and EV drivers angered by those parking in EV charging lots: ‘At least wayang a bit mah’
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Two drivers — including one electric vehicle (EV) driver — want to raise awareness on the misuse of EV charging lots.
Stomper Melvin, who drives an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car, is frustrated by a black BYD Atto 3 he called a “repeat offender” at Block 630 Bedok Reservoir Road.
According to Melvin, the car has been spotted occupying an EV charging lot — without being plugged in — on at least two occasions.
“EV lots are meant for EV charging and not parking,” said Melvin, who saw the car on March 28 and June 13.
“I think the local authorities have made their position clear, (but) this BYD is just bluntly flouting the rules.”
Melvin called the act “self-entitled”, highlighting that petrol car drivers like himself “hunt for lots until siao (crazy)”.
“In my opinion, at least plug in the cable and start charging,” Melvin suggested.
“Wayang a bit mah, rather than get exposed by passers-by and other motorists,” he quipped.
Melvin pointed out that EV chargers in public housing carparks are slower and said it is unlikely that an EV battery would get damaged from staying plugged in while parked.
Stomper Ryan is similarly vexed by such sightings.
The EV driver said he had driven to Hougang Mall on June 15 for dinner with his two-year-old child and was looking for a lot to charge his car. An app that displayed charging points informed him there was one available at the mall’s carpark.
However, when he got there at around 6.30pm, he noticed an EV in the spot that was not plugged in.
“The driver didn’t even bother to plug in the charging gun,” Ryan said.
“Without any other choice, I parked in a regular lot and went to purchase dinner. Returning more than 30 minutes later, I found the vehicle still there.
The Stomper said he observed other EVs stopping briefly before driving away, noting that those drivers would not be “happy” about the sight too.
Citing this as an example of how hard it can be for EV drivers to charge their vehicles, Ryan said: “Your average Joe who works 9am to 6pm and reaches home at 7pm-ish will usually not have a charging lot left.”
Additionally, the output wattage of the chargers accessible to Ryan at open carparks is “slow”.
“At this rate, it takes like 10 to 12 hours to get from 20 per cent to 100 per cent. This would mean anyone who comes later at 8pm, for example, will never get to charge at night due to the lengthy charging hours,” said Ryan.
“Before operators enforce the idling fee for owners who do not move their vehicles after charging is completed, one would have to hope that the owners move in time and keep checking the app to see if lots are available.”
The idle fee, Ryan noted, would not have worked in this case as the car in question was not plugged in at the time.
Urging his peers to be more considerate and mindful of others who need to use the charging lots, Ryan added: “EV owners should know better.
“As the EV population grows, this sort of problem will become more common and frustrations will set in if we don’t do better. I’d hate to see people fight over such issues.”
According to the Land Transport Authority, occupying a charging lot without the EV charger plugged in constitutes as lot misuse. It is an offence under the Parking Places Rule and fines may be imposed.
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