Imagine for a moment the user experience associated with a typical gas station. We don’t really think about it anymore. People that use gas stations have done so since they started driving, and the experience is essentially ubiquitous. When drivers refuel at a gas station, they are on autopilot. There is little thought involved.

Now imagine a driver arriving at an electric vehicle charging station. First they bought the electric vehicle, which was a thoughtful and intentional decision. Then when they need to charge, they use an app to find a charging station, and then when they arrive at the charging station, they are greeted with an underwhelming experience. An experience that is at best forgettable and at worst day-ruining.

“Good design is good business.” — Thomas Watson Jr.

What can electric vehicle charging networks do to make the charging experience better?

1. Recycling bins, composting stations, and trash cans

When you arrive at charging stations today, there is litter everywhere. This is also the case at gas stations, but at least there are trash cans at gas stations to mitigate the problem. Electric vehicle charging stations should have waste management solutions that are aligned with the values of the vehicle owners that arrive there. Most electric vehicle owners today care at least a little bit about the environment. So, why is there litter everywhere at charging stations? The short answer is it would cost someone money to have the waste picked up from the charging stations, but that is the case at gas stations too.

2. Bathrooms

You’ve arrived at a fast charging station on your journey across the country. You plug in your vehicle, and the first thing you think of to kill time is to go to the bathroom. But, where is the bathroom? Some charging stations are luckily in front of stores that are open late, but many are positioned in places that don’t have bathroom options available.

3. A place to walk the dogs

While not 100% necessary, having places where EV owners can walk while their car is charging would significantly improve the charging experience just by getting people out of a seated position and allowing them to stretch their legs. And for those people that own dogs, this would give them a natural opportunity to take their dogs out for a walk.

4. Entertainment

What ever happened to drive-in movie theaters? There are gas stations today that have TV screens at the fuel pump with news, sports, and entertainment for customers to be entertained for the few minutes they are pumping their gas. So, it must make sense for at least the ad revenue to show EV owners some form of entertainment while they are waiting 30–45 minutes for their car to charge.

5. Coffee and WiFi

We all have work to do. Charging your car shouldn’t take away significant amounts of time from your work day. We should still be able to be productive while our cars charge. If charging networks are thinking about the most ideal places to locate EV chargers, coffee shops must be at the top of the list. Imagine the traffic that coffee shops could generate just by having electric vehicle chargers in their parking lots. Particularly coffee shops near college campuses and large office complexes.

6. Clean drinking water

This may not seem necessary, but if we consider a long drive across the American Heartland, basic needs should be met at every stopping point. If users of America’s electric vehicle charging network are stopping at places that lack clean drinking water, or at least the ability to buy some, then how likely are they to use the charging network again? How likely are they to associate basic comfort with their experience?

7. Squeegies

Cars get dirty. Most gas stations have these right next to the fuel pump. Why wouldn’t electric vehicle charging stations provide this? The answer is obviously that they require a human to maintain them. The chargers that are located at gas stations should be able to replicate those types of amenities fairly easily.

8. Learning moments

Electric vehicle chargers are interesting and could be useful educational tools. It is easy to imagine simple displays on the charging stations that explain the physics and engineering of how electric vehicle charging works. Do we want a scientifically literate population? Then why not design learning moments into electric vehicle charging stations?

9. A convenience store

Electric vehicle owners are up to 40% more likely to make purchases at convenience stores while refueling their cars. This is likely because they are killing time and just end up walking around the aisles at the convenient store nearest to the charger. So, if convenient stores are trying to make more money, it would make sense to invite more charging networks to locate their chargers near their stores.

10. Culture

If you are traveling across the American Heartland, what is the purpose of your travel? To get from point A to point B? No. You are traveling to experience America. To experience new places. To see art museums and national parks and charming small towns. We need more charging stations that allow us to spend time immersing ourselves in culture. The long charging time is an opportunity to engage travelers in cultural experiences.

“Spirit of place! It is for this we travel, to surprise its subtlety; and where it is a strong and dominant angel, that place, seen once, abides entire in the memory with all its own accidents, its habits, its breath, its name.”

— Alice Meynell