I drove across Australia in an electric vehicle as a solo woman. This is the one thing that made me scared for my safety
An electric car driver claimed it was ‘scary’ to travel alone as a woman across the country due to a lack of proper infrastructure.
Mere Jans said she felt like a ‘second-class citizen’ as she drove almost 500 miles from her home in Ipswich, Queenslandto visit family in Toronto, N.S.W.
She said she often felt stranded at remote charging stations, which were sometimes dark and lacked basic amenities such as toilets and cellphone coverage.
Ms Jans remembers trying to charge her car in the dark with no internet, which meant she couldn’t connect to a charger via an app.
“This was annoying… it added an hour to my journey because I couldn’t get it to work,” she said Yahoo.
Mere Jans (pictured) said she felt like a ‘second-class citizen’ as she drove nearly 500 miles from her home in Ipswich to visit family in Toronto
Mrs Jans ordered an Evie Pass RFID card so she could connect to chargers without using her phone, but it had not arrived before she left.
Without an Evie card, drivers must download an app to use each charging station.
Fortunately, her MG EV ZS had enough power to reach the next charging station, which was in ‘the middle of nowhere’ on the NSW north coast.
Ms Jans said it was “a bit scary” being alone as a woman, especially as all the shops in the area were closed at the time.
She said the chargers were usually located at the back of gas stations near truck stops where there were no facilities nearby, which she found “frustrating” because it takes about half an hour to charge an electric car.
After she shared her experiences on Facebook, many others agreed that there is still insufficient infrastructure for EV owners.
“Many need lights, shelter, trash cans, wipers… All things you take for granted with a gas servo,” said one.
“Plugshare helps with station decommissioning and trip planning,” another added.
‘A lot of regional chargers are tucked away and can be a bit creepy. I plan my trips so that I only charge during the day.’
Ms Jans urges other women to be prepared and plan ahead so they don’t have to charge their cars late at night.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for EV drivers, as she said there are some huge benefits to driving the vehicle.
Ms Jans said charging costs ranged from 25 to 60 cents per kilowatt and her return journey cost just $150, which is just a fraction of the price a driver would pay for petrol.
She also said drivers are “checking in” at the charging stations so other drivers can see if they are all being used before they arrive.
It is understood that NRMA has added additional lighting and surveillance cameras to make regional charging locations safer
She added that the EV community is all trying to help each other.
Ross De Rango, head of energy and infrastructure at the Electric Vehicle Council, said grants for public charging sites often include extra funding for facilities and lighting.
He said the government and the electric car industry needed to work together to ensure charging stations were built near facilities in a timely manner because motorists expected that.
An NRMA spokesperson also said driver safety is their top priority.
He said some chargers will need to be built in more remote locations, but the company wants to build its EV chargers close to public facilities and local businesses.
It is understood that NRMA has added additional lighting and surveillance cameras to make the regional charging locations safer.
