Electric Highway: Bringing Cross-Country Vacationing into the Future

“I’m a driver. I’m a winner. Things are gonna change. I can feel it”

This soundbite from Beck’s classic song “Loser” was looping through my head as I drove alone for the first time after getting my driver’s license. In American cities where almost every aspect is engineered for the automobile, the significance of being able to drive is comparable to little else. I really felt as though things were gonna change.

Being raised in Chicago, American culture has always been a part of my life, for better or for worse. One of the many ideals that was hammered into me through my upbringing, besides the ever-present entrepreneurial spirit and sense of being at the forefront of entertainment and technological advancement, was that of the Great American Road Trip.

The dream of going on a vacation with your friends or family and packing them into your vehicle has implanted itself into the minds of many Americans when they hear of the sights that they can admire throughout the breadth of their country.

It becomes almost a rite of passage, not to be considered an American but to say you’ve “seen the country”.

Rather than just visiting one state or city, the appeal of riding one’s car hard and fast through countless towns seems to top all other American vacations. This is especially true for the close to 50% of Americans who have never left the country, due to the economic difficulty of traveling abroad from the US, and as a result, their drive across the country may be the farthest they travel from home. While to European readers this may seem laughable, it is important to note that the drive from Paris to Rome is still 10 hours shorter than the drive from Chicago to Las Vegas.

This represents an opportunity for us to realize the vastness of our country, as well as to appreciate it.

Lots of us have memories of taking the family sedan out on the road, and filling it up with gasoline in nameless places because it’s just been the way we’ve done things. But with the recent advancements made in electric vehicle technology, it is important to consider how to adapt the American pastime of cross-country driving into the modern age.

While the car culture has remained largely the same in the United States since the latter half of the 20th century, there has been an increasing push and desire for electric vehicles since around 2008. While Tesla is not the only producer of electric vehicles, their release of the fully-electric Roadster in 2008 put the idea of gas-free vehicles into the public consciousness, marking the beginning of modern EV development.

Now, almost 14 years later, the market is on the brink of mainstream adoption as car manufacturers develop more affordable models that will bring the technology from the comfortable upper and middle classes, into the hands of the working-class majority.

This pattern has been seen many times before, and we know it very well by now…

This transition from a luxury product into an everyday tool will be the most important shift in the average consumer’s fight against the threat of climate change. While it may seem that individually, one’s carbon impact from driving their car is inconsequential, the sheer number of vehicles means that 21.6% of global carbon emissions are derived from road vehicles (cars, vans, buses, etc).

With the anticipated drop in the initial cost of electric vehicles, it is now crucial to examine the other factors for why people may be hesitant about purchasing an electric vehicle. Through the research done by YouGov America, it was found that the four leading reasons for not purchasing an electric vehicle are all related to some aspect of charging the vehicle itself. These four reasons being:

• Lack of charging stations
• Hassle of charging
• Cost of charging at home
• Charging time

Evidently, the most important aspect of electric vehicles to invest research and funding into is that of charging technology and infrastructure. According to the US Department of Energy, there are currently about 41,400 charging stations across the US, with the number of gas stations being in the vicinity of three times that, around 115,000.

But hey, even that number of charging stations is too good to be true. Many of these stations only have one standard charging port, so if you pull up 30 seconds too late, your spot may be taken and you’ll need to look somewhere else.

So, as the usage of electric vehicles continues to grow, the number of charging stations will also need to see an increase to account for the new volume of EVs on the road. Gas stations will then likely attempt to pivot from supplying gasoline to supplying electricity as the makeup of personal vehicles on the road changes. For manufacturers of charging technology, this will be a lucrative opportunity as gas stations will readily buy the charging facilities in order to remain operational.

Another similar opportunity lies with providing charging stations to the owners of large-scale parking lots, for example, those of office complexes, retail locations, and hotels. These locations will be especially important before the time to charge one’s vehicle is diminished. While currently, it may take as few as two minutes to fill a car up with gasoline, the shortest and most generous estimate to charge one’s car is around 30 minutes. Thus with the current charging technology, it would be prudent to focus on installing charging stations at locations where users would be preoccupied with some other activity.

The location of each station is crucial to its operation, but equally so is the variety of charging facilities to be found there. For instance in residential areas, the expedited charging time found with DC Fast Chargers would be unneeded due to the ability to charge one’s car overnight, and unfeasible due to the expense of having it installed. On the other hand, at rest stations on the interstate highways, a Level 1 or Level 2 charger will not be sufficient as most drivers do not appreciate the countless hours that it would add to their trip.

Great. Another variable to manage.

Even currently, while the lightning-fast DC Fast Chargers charge at an astounding rate of 240 miles per hour, if one drove from the east coast to the west coast of the United States, the charging alone would add an extra 12 hours. While this time could be minimized by stopping for food and other necessities, it still carries an inconvenience that would not be found by driving a traditional vehicle.

Further preventing mainstream adoption of electric vehicles is the perceived inconvenience that EVs have when compared to those with gasoline engines. This is not an entirely unfounded fear as most of the American infrastructure is not only centered around the automobile but those powered by gasoline. Along many of the dusty highways in the western and central United States, one will encounter few amenities besides gas stations or small restaurants serving the traveling public. Thus even if people would never end up taking one of these trips, the fear of being stranded with no way to charge their vehicle is reason enough to not purchase an EV.

An interesting idea to consider is that these isolated rest stops would be prime locations to establish self-sufficient charging stations; the areas of space near the highways or charging stations could be fitted with solar panels which would then provide power for the cars in transit. These locations would then have the edge over gas stations as they would not need to be continually supplied with gasoline.

Not only do drivers struggle with charging their electric vehicles on long trips, but also at home with daily drives to their workplaces or for shopping. According to research done through the University of California Davis, 1 in 5 EV owners switched back to gasoline-powered cars after dealing with the hassle of charging.

That’s truly disheartening.

The owners noted that in their day-to-day usage they rarely used the faster charging available at the public charging stations, though the reason was not clear why. My hypothesis for this ties back to my earlier statements about the difference in the time it takes to charge an EV versus filling up a car with gasoline. The American people largely do not enjoy being in public with no discernible goal or purpose, thus dissuading them from waiting for their cars to charge. Instead, the people researched tried to make do with the Level 1 chargers at home, but these were found to be insufficient in charging their EVs quickly. They then further stated that Level 2 chargers are a must, which is a concerning thought as only 30% had access to Level 2 charging.

Thus, in addition to supplying rapid charging facilities along highways, major thoroughfares, and various parking lots, the charging capability of a residential garage must also be addressed.

While every Electric Vehicle sold today is packaged with a Level 1 portable charger, and if one wishes for mainstream adoption, this will be considered too inconvenient to the average American. Then, if the new owner of an electric vehicle wants to upgrade their at-home charging speed they would need to shell out even more money for a Level 2 charger, which could cost somewhere in the vicinity of $1000 for a better-than-average model.

Obviously, for the 56% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, an additional thousand dollar cost on an already expensive mode of transportation is unfeasible.

Fortunately, if one charges their car at home rather than at one of the public charging stations, the running costs are drastically lower than those of standard cars. If this concern over the initial cost of EVs can be alleviated, then a good portion of the resistance people feel towards them should also disappear.

The reluctance that many people feel towards switching over to a new method of transportation has valid reasoning due to the current limitations, with the root issue being the lack of effective charging options, be they at home or in public. Even if at-home charging persists in having an expensive principal cost, if public charging stations can mimic gas stations in both time spent and cost for a “full tank”, then more of the general public would commit to the switch.

Once the American highway system has been adapted to the buzz of electric engines, it is easy to visualize millions of Americans making a cross-country pilgrimage in their electric cars. Even if it may seem like a non-pressing issue, facilitating the transition of this American vacation from the past into the new ecologically conscious future is ever important. Ensuring that even decades into the future, there will persist a distinctly American way to spend one’s holidays.

I hope this exploration into the aspects holding back electric vehicles does not serve as an indictment against their usage. Truly, the future of electric vehicles looks bright with attention devoted to increasing their ease of use and availability. This means increasing the coverage and quality of charging stations, putting them on an equal playing field with traditional gas stations.