Most of the electric-gasoline hybrid car owners have admitted to having difficulties in locating convenient charging stations near their area. This can be more like looking for a needle in a haystack, especially when you are running low on power. Most people experience what we call “charging anxiety.” This is the fear that you will arrive at your destination and find that there are no charging points or the charging points at the location have broken down. When you are in a place that is not very familiar to you, it usually brings about the feeling of wanting to leave your house for an urgent appointment yet you cannot find your keys. This feeling of being trapped is what gets people looking for charging stations whenever they are somewhere new.
Even more aggravating is the fact that most people responsible for staffing parking facilities are not aware of the existence of charging stations in their vicinity. In cases where the attendants actually know that the charging stations exist, you will mostly get a very vague answer like, “somewhere on the second floor” or “I don’t think we have them.” It is very rare to find someone who will give you specific instructions such as, “Go take a left turn on isle H then go straight ahead until you find a big blue box.”
It is puzzling to note that it is very easy for people to give you the directions to the nearest petrol station than for someone to give you directions to a charging station. Because of their relatively different physical design it gets even more difficult to identify them once you are at their location. It is not surprising to find a car circling a charging station without knowing that they are actually at the charging station. All of the databases for charging stations usually list the presence of the charging stations, but when your power is almost running out, all you want is to get in and charge your battery and you may not really have the chance to power up.
In extreme cases, some people have taken to social media as they try to locate these power stations. In some cases, they have been forced to limp away as they opt to look for alternative charging stations. Having an almost invisible charging station is not only a problem for hybrid car owners, but also the hybrid car manufacturers because it reduces their market penetration and reduces their popularity.