Poll: Interest in a charging service to help stranded drivers

[mochaev]

Hello Lightning owners! What a terrific vehicle with the unique ability to power other devices.

I'm working on a service that provides stranded drivers enough charge to get to the next charging station. You could earn money going to the stranded driver and charge them up a bit.

As a charge provider, would you be interested in signing up to help stranded drivers and earn some cash?

As a driver, does this help reduce your range anxiety? What would it take to convince you to sign up?

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[MotoGary]

Your poll doesn't offer the option, but you can mark me down as "Neither".

 

[mr.Magoo]

I hate to be a Debbie downer here, but in the same time Bob finishes up what he was doing, drives 15 miles to meet me so I can charge at 5-6kW / hour, only for me to drive 15 miles to the nearest fast charger to charge, I probably could have called a tow to the same location, charged, and be on my way.

 

[mochaev]

I hate to be a Debbie downer here, but in the same time Bob finishes up what he was doing, drives 15 miles to meet me so I can charge at 5-6kW / hour, only for me to drive 15 miles to the nearest fast charger to charge, I probably could have called a tow to the same location, charged, and be on my way.

A tow truck is a viable option. One may not close by in less densely populated areas. Towing adds risk of damage depending on the type of tow truck and the state of the vehicle (can it be put into tow mode, how much weight can it handle). If you have family in the car, there may not be enough space to fit everyone in the tow truck, and staying in the towed vehicle is illegal. You'd then have to hail another ride to follow the tow truck.

Thanks for your constructive feedback. It's a valuable viewpoint that I'll take into consideration. The infrastructure for EVs is still young and finding creative ways to fill the gaps is needed to grow EV adoption.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I’ve been called to help friends with a low battery, but I’m too introverted to spend 30 minutes “hanging out” with someone I don’t know while charging their vehicle.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/lightning-to-ev6-emergency-charge.26109/

 

[RickLightning]

Here's the main problem - SAFETY. I don't know Bob, the guy that ran out of power. He sounds nice. But, he's on the side of I-94 (dangerous), and I'm not risking my life to charge him for an hour while waiting for someone to plow into me.

Since Ford provides FREE roadside assistance for 5 years / 60,000 miles, including to the nearest charger, and since in an EMERGENCY Bob can dial 911 for police to make him feel safe or remove his family from the side of the road, I'd never consider doing this.

For the non-emergency, the real question here is whether Bob is a moron or not. Did he have an unexpected headwind, or make a wrong turn, or is Bob just one of the social media knuckleheads that wanted to push the boundaries? If so, sit there Bob, and think about life.

 

[Tom D]

'Neither' is the only correct option. As others have said, this is not safe and is a huge waste of time. Get a tow back home or to a DC fast charger.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Also, I don't carry enough insurance and I'm not interested in carrying more insurance to cover someone else's problems. A bad connection burns their car to a crisp? I'm not carrying that kind of insurance.

A teen on his phone plows into me while I'm sitting on the side of the road charging this other person? I'm not carrying enough insurance to cover that and I'm sure neither the EV driver nor the inattentive teen are carrying enough.

There are too many ways this could go wrong that I have zero interest in doing this for strangers. And I'd most likely prefer to pay for a friend's tow rather than go sit for 30 minutes, if they were having trouble on the side of the highway. If they're stopped in a parking lot, sure I'll do that for a friend.

 

[Mmiketa]

I would like to add that this is a service that AAA already offers: https://newsroom.aaa.com/2022/12/electrifying-aaa-member-benefits/

 

[Athrun88]

I am also in the "neither" camp. Plently of established options as already listed:
- Tow truck
- AAA/CAA
- Some credit cards have roadside assistance baked in
- Ford roadside assistance

Not sure if you're trying to 'disrupt' the current roadside assistance market by creating an 'Uber-like' service, but there's just too much liability for the helper and helpee imo. In most juristictions, you also need to be licensed to operate something like this. All independent tow truck operators in my area, for example, all hold licenses.

I personally have a set of emergency lights and cones in the frunk in case I ever run our of juice to make myself visible while I wait for help.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

Neither.

As others have stated: this is attempting to fix a problem that rarely exists. When the problem does occur, there are already fast (and affordable, if not free/included) options out there.

 

[Firn]

Put me the the "I'm not announcing to some rando I'm stranded with no where to go and no other options".

 

[Ted23Lightning]

I could see this working in small towns without much charging infrastructure. Or more so an app. Maybe help an older Nissan leaf that went too far out of range and shouldn’t take much power/ time to charge. I really think this is a great idea at its base, but not as a main service like AAA. More so as again, an app or a community help sorta thing.

 

[Howard_Scott_Warshaw]

Sorry bub, but you're late to the game. This service already exists. And I would short the s**t out of a new business that tried to start in this market. EV owners don't spontaneously "run out of charge". We plan and overcome.

Aside from when you were a stupid teenager, how many times did you run out of gas?

 

[No Oil HaHa]

You can add me to the “neither” category as well. Sorry, I don’t have the time to provide charging for someone else and I plan accordingly so I don’t run out of battery.

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