Places/EV charging station

All electric vehicle charging station PURs must be reviewed in the beta WME to ensure accurate assignment of public, restricted, or private attributes.

Many cars now on the road are hybrids or completely electrically powered. The current state of charging stations is not as robust as the network of gas stations that exist in the USA. Due to the limited range and challenges for charging, having a uniformed experience for wazers who operate an electric vehicle is important.

Naming

Some EV charging stations are part of a national or regional network. These are known as "networked" charging stations. Charging stations that are not part of a network are known as "non-networked" charging stations.

Networked charging stations

The primary name of a networked charging station should always start with the network name.

In some situations, you should also add a location name, separated from the network name by a hyphen.

• If the network provider provides user-friendly names for its charging stations, and the name is more than just a city name (with or without state), then add the location name after a hyphen, but remove the city and state (if it matches the city and state in the address).
  • Don't remove a city name that is part of another name (such as "Gulfport Premium Outlets" or "Pensacola Square").
  • The location name should generally match the name used by the charging network, if the charging network name is user-friendly. ChargePoint names are not generally user-friendly.
• If the charging station is associated with another place (and doesn't have an official name as described above), then use the name of that place as the location name.

Examples

Network	Location Name (from provider)	Waze Place Primary Name
Electrify America	Walmart 402 Breaux Bridge	Electrify America - Walmart 402
Electrify America	Gulfport Premium Outlets	Electrify America - Gulfport Premium Outlets
Tesla Supercharger	Metairie, LA	Tesla Supercharger
Tesla Supercharger	Las Vegas, NV - Bridger Avenue	Tesla Supercharger - Bridger Avenue
Tesla Destination Charger	Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa	Tesla Destination Charger - Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa
Francis Energy	(none - Francis Energy does not name its locations)	Francis Energy
ChargePoint	ENTERGY NO LVL2 / LAFITTEGREENWAY	ChargePoint - Lafitte Greenway
ChargePoint	ENTERGY NO LVL2 / ROSENWALD REC	ChargePoint - Rosenwald Recreation Center

Add "EV Charging Station" as an alternate name to all EV charging stations.

Non-networked charging stations

Non-networked charging stations should be named with the words "Charging Station", followed by a hyphen, followed by the location name. If possible, determine the location name the same way you would for a networked charger (including by using the name of an associated place). If there is no name or associated place, simply name it "Charging Station". For example,

• Charging Station - Freedom Nissan
• Charging Station - Pontchartrain Park
• Charging Station - Premium Parking P376
• Charging Station - Whole Foods
• Charging Station - 11375 Haddaway Blvd

Add "EV Charging Station" as an alternate name to all EV charging stations.

Details

Description

...

Location at venue

EV charging stations can be hard to find. Include a short description wherever possible to help drivers find the station. For example,

• On the western edge of the parking lot.
• On the 6th floor lower level of the parking garage.
• Near the front door, to the left (when looking at the building from the parking lot).
• In the Rudy's BBQ parking lot east of the building.

Network

Include the network for networked chargers. Do not include a network for non-networked chargers.

Price

Use Paid if the average driver needs to pay to charge at the charging station, including

• commercial parking facilities, even if you only pay once for parking (and charging is included in the parking rate);
• paid DC fast chargers, even if some drivers have free charging plans associated with their vehicles.

Use Free if the average driver can charge without paying.

Payment methods

Add any and all payment methods which are accepted at the charging station.

• App if the user can start and pay for charging using a mobile app downloaded from the App Store, Play Store, or similar.
• Credit card or Debit card if the user can start and pay for charging with a credit or debit card without using an app or web browser.
• Membership card if the user can start and pay for charging using a membership card (whether a physical card or a mobile wallet card) issued by the charging network operator.
• Online payment if the user can start and pay for charging using an online payment without using an app.
• Plug-in autocharge if the user can start and pay for charging by simply plugging in the car without requiring any further interaction.
• Other if the user can pay with a method not listed above (including, for example, cash at a parking garage or valet parking service).

Lock

Lock charging stations to the same level you would a gas station in your state.

Chargers

The Chargers tab shows the chargers and plugs which are available at the charging station.

Waze follows the Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) protocol, which follows the structure Charging station » Charger » Plug.

A charging station is a place that has at least one charger. A charger is a unit to which a vehicle connects to charge. A plug is the part of the cable that connects to the vehicle. Some chargers have more than one plug, but allow only one vehicle to charge at a time.

The Chargers tab will be read-only on charging stations which are linked to an external provider. If you find an error in the Chargers tab, reach out to your (A)RC so they can address it with staff or the external provider.

Connector Type

Currently there are multiple types of connectors for charging electric vehicles, which are not universally compatible. Listing the connector type in the description field is critical to allow drivers to pick the correct charging station. The most common types of charging connectors are: J1772, J1772 CHAdeMO, NEMA520, J1772 COMBO, CHAdeMO

• J1772 Connector

Number of spaces

An important consideration for many EV users is the number of spaces reserved for charging. Include this information in the description, especially if there is a time limit.

• 2 reserved EV spaces
• 2 reserved EV spaces (30 minutes maximum)

More info

Access type

Charging stations may be available to the general public, restricted to a certain audience and time-frame, or completely private.

• Public: Public chargers are available to the general public. For example, chargers at a shopping center or a public parking lot or garage.
• Restricted: Restricted chargers are available to the public, but with limitations. For example, a user may charge a restaurant's charging station, but only while dining. Another example would be a charger for hotel guests.
• Private: Most private chargers will be those at homes, apartments, and workplaces. Private chargers are only available to the homeowner, business's employees and their guests. Additionally, home chargers that are shared via online "plug sharing" networks, but are not available to the public should also be considered private.

As of 5 February 2023 (2023-02-05) the production WME does not support marking a charging station as public, restricted, or private. Do not add any private or restricted charging stations; at this time, only add public charging stations. Any pending PURs for restricted or private locations should be left open until such time that the features are completed and available in the production WME.

Website, Phone, Services, Open hours

As with any other place, include URL, phone number, services, and open hours for the charging station (no one wants to arrive late at night to find it closed). WMEPH can be helpful in ensuring harmonization of naming and details.

Use the customer service phone number if there is one (for example, for a charging network or parking operator).

Resources

Charging network station locators

National

• ChargePoint - Station Map
• Electrify America - Locate a Charger
• EVgo - Find a Charger
• Tesla - Find Us

Regional

• Francis Energy - Stations Near You (Oklahoma)

Other resources

• DOE charging station locations
• Maryland charging station locations

Forum

• Forum discussion