EV Charging Success in Downtown Berkeley

I rented a Chevy Bolt EV this past weekend to run errands in Berkeley and visit family. After mapping some public charging stations downtown beforehand, I easily found one in a parking garage near “The Butcher’s Son“ vegan deli.

Arriving at midday to meet friends, I spotted multiple open chargers and plugged the Bolt straight in. After enjoying some fantastic sandwiches at The Butcher’s Son, I returned about an hour later to see the Bolt had charged from 70% to 85% battery for just $2.42 on the station’s payment screen.

It was amazing how simple it all can be when there are lots of nearby charging locations. There were literally 8 chargers in this garage, of which four were available. And they all work without a silly app, just tap the card and charge away.

It made me think that if SFMTA could put 8 chargers in each of their garages, it would dramatically expand charging access and EV usage in the city.