I am going to offer a
I am going to offer a different perspective on a few of the points in this article in doing so I will probably rile some. My intent is not anger but to encourage a look from a different angle. Some of what is presented here seems a bit self-serving to the all electric crowd.
I will start with the idea that all-electric cars should have preference over plug-in hybrid cars. I had a choice, as did all-electric owners, when I bought my Volt. I bought an EV for all the same advantages that all electric owners bought their cars for. But I chose to have a car with a range extender so that I would have greater flexibility and not be stranded or delayed if a charge station was not available. It seems a bit odd that someone that made the other choice would see himself as more entitled. It is as if I went on a camping trip but did not pack enough food because I planned to catch fish for my dinner. Then after several hours of not catching anything I wondered into a nearby camp where the campers had packed some dried food as a back up and expected that they should turn over the fish they had caught to me and settle for their dry rations. Why should I have to bare the added cost of burning gas because you came less prepared? People should work together to share charging stations but it should not be assumed that if I have a range extender I should just get out of the way. If an all-electric driver has enough range to get home there is no more need than anyone else and should not ask another driver to un-plug until fully charged. If you need the charge to make your destination and if it is a charge point station, or similar, and you failed to make a reservation you have zero entitlement and should be embarrassed to ask another driver to un-plug.
I also disagree that EV’s should only park in EV charging spaces only when charging. There are several reasons to provide these spaces. Among them are to entice EV drivers to a business and to encourage EV use within a city or area. California law provides means for both allowing and prohibiting parking without charging. If the former is the case there should be no guilt for a person parking without charging. Courtesy would however dictate that a person should yield the spot to someone needing to charge as long as that person is not unduly inconvenienced. An example is a few downtown spaces in my home down. One of the perks of these spaces is that parking fees are waved. One driver should not expect another to yield the space and pay for parking because they want to charge. An HEV driver is just as entitled to the free parking perk as the pure EV driver.