Australia now has more than one-thousand fast charging sites for electric vehicles. While that should reduce so-called range anxiety, in recent weeks some drivers have faced long queues at charging stations or found they simply weren't working. Advocates say there are simple steps people can take on long journeys to make sure they don't get caught out with a flat battery. But they also want providers and governments to do more to improve confidence in the technology.
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00:00For the vast majority of drivers recharging in Yass, their holiday trips have gone without
00:08a hitch.
00:09This hasn't been a problem at all.
00:10We did some planning, which I think is the key.
00:12On the way from here to Sydney, when it was actually Christmas period, like you know just
00:16starting just before, yes we did have queues.
00:18But it's not bad, you can go around, you can park your car, there's a lot of things around
00:22this suburb in particular, there's a pub right there.
00:25But for those going off the beaten track, or just along the south coast, it's not always
00:30as easy.
00:31You get to Bega, so plenty of charge there, but I had to wait because somebody was charging
00:35at Bega.
00:37And then I'd plan to charge at Batemans Bay.
00:39Well Batemans Bay over Christmas I forgot does a tolerable impersonation of Cootah Beach,
00:47together with Cootah Beach traffic.
00:49Even when taking the Hume Highway to Melbourne, things can be tricky.
00:53The Dugion charger, that was out.
00:58The chargers at the dog on the tucker box, they've been out for three months.
01:01There seemed to be less effort this year put into making sure they were ready to go for
01:06that busy period, compared with the previous year where the network operators did a good
01:11job of making sure they were all online.
01:13The NRMA says it's building new charging stations at a rate of around one per week, to expand
01:19its network and replace broken or outdated models.
01:22There's no doubt that Australia is facing some unique challenges.
01:25The size of the country, one of them, access, readily available access to energy sources,
01:31which isn't a challenge in most other countries.
01:35And also we're in the same queue as every other country trying desperately to get our
01:40hands on these chargers.
01:43Meanwhile, EV drivers are encouraged to get out of the petrol bowser mindset.
01:48While on some occasions you really want fast charging in the middle of a long highway trip,
01:55there are other times where it doesn't need to be fast because it could be overnight at
01:58your accommodation.
02:00As always, prior planning prevents poor performance.