Last year I spent a few nights driving through Pennsylvania, where I became acquainted with Sheetz gas stations. A couple of things struck me about the chain’s logistical setup: first, there were plenty of places for EVs to charge alongside the traditional gas pumps outside. More notably, there was also plenty of seating inside and food and drink available 24/7. In other words, if you pulled into a Sheetz at two in the morning, you could sit inside and drink coffee while your EV charged enough to get you to where you were going. It’s practically utopian.
Is the future of EV charging basically…Sheetz? In a New York Times article, journalist Kevin Williams seems to think so as well. Williams focuses on the expansion of businesses that can offer travelers with EVs a place to wait while their vehicles charge — with Sheetz, QuikTrip and Buc-ees all cited as prominent examples.
There are a few reasons why this makes sense. The first has to do with routines: if you’re shifting from driving a gas-powered vehicle to an EV, it’s a lot easier to keep refueling at the same places — even if the actual fuel is very different. It’s also a lot easier for an existing player in the gas station space to add EV chargers than to try to create an EV-only facility.
This has taken place in numerous locations overseas. In the U.K., for instance, Shell maintains some facilities that include options for pumping gas and charging EVs. That said, there are some metaphorical bumps in the road here: the Times notes that the growing size of gas stations in order to accommodate EV drivers has led to some municipal pushback.
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From a chiropractor in Colorado to a retiree in Minnesota, here’s how their opinions changed after a full year of electric drivingThe growth of gas stations and convenience stores suggests that a kind of retail version of carcinization is afoot — except instead of everything turning into crabs, it means these establishments are gradually evolving into a form closer to that of highway rest stops. One of the Buc-ees locations in the Times piece is a massive 75,000 square feet in size, for instance.
Sure enough, rest stops are also expanding their EV charging options — with the New Jersey Turnpike’s decision to move away from Tesla Superchargers causing some friction between the state and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Even as EVs become more numerous, gas-powered vehicles will be with us for a long time; it’s not far-fetched to think that the facilities that will succeed will cater to both.
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