Anyone have a ChargePoint membership card in Canada?

techMology · Mar 4, 2014

With Sun Country Highway up here, I suppose we are quite spoiled (I understand most of these are free to use, perhaps with some parking levies at certain locations) versus our friends in the US.

Other than SCH, do any of my fellow Canadians bother with ChargePoint or any other network? Or do you have a membership/card for travels south and/or "just in case" scenarios?

Doug_G · Mar 4, 2014

I think I have one somewhere. And a Circuit Electrique card. Never used - got them for "emergencies".

Morristhecat · Mar 4, 2014

I do have a chargepoint card that i use now and then.. I have only seen them for free around here as they are usually sponsored.. Good for a charge while at the mall, a movie, shopping, dinner's out, etc.. They are usually only good for 29km/hr, but if you are using it for an hour or two it is worth it, especially since the parking spots are usually quite good.

Jaff · Mar 4, 2014

Same here (ChargePoint for emergencies)...with the GO stations now having good a few ChargePoint stations, my wife can charge up whilst taking the train to T.O. For meetings ...

Doug_G said:
I think I have one somewhere. And a Circuit Electrique card. Never used - got them for "emergencies".

orangem · Mar 4, 2014

Note you can use chargepoint app to unlock and start the charger now. no need for card.

mknox · Mar 4, 2014

Yes. I use it several times a week.

mitch672 · Mar 4, 2014

Yes, had it for a long time now.. There's a few public chargepoints that National Grid put in around here, I use it for them.. They are still free. The Walgreens in my town also has one, but charges .50/KW, so I don't use it... I did put $25 on the card in case of an emergency.

Blaze · Mar 4, 2014

Just received a blink card. Is this a good one?

SteveW25561 · Mar 4, 2014

Since the Chargepoint cards only cost $5 (or free if you watch for national plug in day or Earth day when they had given the cards away for free) it's worth having one on hand. When you're in the USA it saves you from using mobile data via the app, and I've seen a Chargepoint station here in BC (Metrotown mall, Burnaby) where the machine did not validate using my visa and didn't have a station number to unlock via the app. The Chargepoint card unlocked it quickly with a tap (the charging is free at this mall).

Last time I was in Bellevue, WA, I planned to charge at the Tesla parade area but they no longer offer this. I didn't have a Chargepoint card and for some reason my Visa's pay wave didn't work, so I couldn't access the chargepoint charger at the mall. I regretted not having the account set up beforehand. I used my wife's visa to activate and pay for the charging (her paywave worked).

It's a small price to pay for convenience when you need it. I do think you can unlock the units using a visa, but that failed on me twice (Metrotown and Bellevue), so it's nice to have the backup.

mnx · Mar 5, 2014

I just signed up for a chargepoint card, I'm not sure if I'll ever use it except when on trips to the US... The only chargepoint station I've seen is at at Mapleview mall in Burlington, but I think you need to visit guest services to use their FOB to unlock the station. It's a major pain.

O2_Quik · Mar 5, 2014

Just signed up and got two cards in the mail. Already had the app but just in case. I'll have this in case I'm off the supercharger network while on my roadtrip to Florida.

Ugliest1 · Mar 5, 2014

The short answer: I haven't travelled much in Canada yet, but I've already used Chargepoint, Blink, and addENERGIE in Victoria and the US, and it was much more convenient (and cheaper) being a member.

Longer answer: I went slightly overkill to make sure I was never caught without a way to charge in the US or Canada. Browsing Plugshare, once you're off the TransCanada there are plenty of non-Sun Country, and there are lots and lots that don't identify what charger they actually are. So I ended up getting:
- Chargepoint (2 free cards for a $25 deposit against future charging), and I've already used three chargers in malls and one in Vancouver's Granville Island
- Blink (besides other places, used twice at NBA basketball games, the charging spots were right by the entrance door, way closer than I could have gotten otherwise)
- SemaCharge (just received the card in the mail yesterday so haven't used them yet)
- addENERGIE, $10 for their card, a Quebec company who have free-to-use chargers in all the rec centers and parkades around here, I use them at movies etc, and there are a whole bunch in small towns across BC (must have been a coordinated municipal government push)
- Greenlots, signed up but they don't use a card, just the charging station number against their app, and I haven't seen a charger yet
- AeroVironment (OR and WA mainly, free until April when their $ infrastructure gets going)

Now if I can just keep all the cards straight...

Vger · Mar 5, 2014

I have a ChargePoint card, and have used it for opportunistic stops in the Vancouver area, Seattle area, and SF Bay area. I find it definitely worth having.

I also have the AddENERGIE card and EVnet fob, but have not used them. I used the AddENERGIE stations in two locations in BC, but before I got the card, so had to call in. They were quite efficient at authorizing me.

techMology · Mar 5, 2014

Ugliest1 said:
The short answer: I haven't travelled much in Canada yet, but I've already used Chargepoint, Blink, and addENERGIE in Victoria and the US, and it was much more convenient (and cheaper) being a member.

Longer answer: I went slightly overkill to make sure I was never caught without a way to charge in the US or Canada. Browsing Plugshare, once you're off the TransCanada there are plenty of non-Sun Country, and there are lots and lots that don't identify what charger they actually are. So I ended up getting:
- Chargepoint (2 free cards for a $25 deposit against future charging), and I've already used three chargers in malls and one in Vancouver's Granville Island
- Blink (besides other places, used twice at NBA basketball games, the charging spots were right by the entrance door, way closer than I could have gotten otherwise)
- SemaCharge (just received the card in the mail yesterday so haven't used them yet)
- addENERGIE, $10 for their card, a Quebec company who have free-to-use chargers in all the rec centers and parkades around here, I use them at movies etc, and there are a whole bunch in small towns across BC (must have been a coordinated municipal government push)
- Greenlots, signed up but they don't use a card, just the charging station number against their app, and I haven't seen a charger yet
- AeroVironment (OR and WA mainly, free until April when their $ infrastructure gets going)

Now if I can just keep all the cards straight...

Wow, great list! I was just about to ask if anyone recommended any other charging networks. Thanks!

clea · Mar 5, 2014

techMology said:
Wow, great list! I was just about to ask if anyone recommended any other charging networks. Thanks!

If you are ever coming to Quebec it would probably also be a good idea to get a Circuit Electrique card as well (http://www.lecircuitelectrique.com/index.en.html)

Edit: Do we have already a list like this somewhere? If not, why not?

pairtrader · Mar 5, 2014

I have the card but do not get my MS until March 26th. I plan to use Chargepoint as my primary charger because I won't have charging at home. Sounds crazy, but I work from home and live 4 blocks from two always empty Chargepoint spots. There are quite a few in Vancouver in good locations, so I'll get by for now. Ugliest1 mentioned the Granville Island location. I went there this past weekend and had to park my ICE vehicle 6 blocks away. I went to check out the Chargepoint spot and there was a white MS there, with another empty spot right in the middle of Granville Island with NO other parking available. I really wish I had my MS then. Sometimes you get great parking in addition to free juice!

mknox · Mar 5, 2014

mnx said:
I just signed up for a chargepoint card, I'm not sure if I'll ever use it except when on trips to the US... The only chargepoint station I've seen is at at Mapleview mall in Burlington, but I think you need to visit guest services to use their FOB to unlock the station. It's a major pain.

There seem to be lots where I travel: Conestoga Mall in Waterloo, Cambridge Centre in Cambridge, London Hydro, Hydro One Brampton and Yorkdale Mall all come to mind off the top of my head... I'm sure I've used others as well.

pairtrader · Mar 29, 2014

This is my first full day with my S85 after getting it back from the wrap shop and I tried four Chargepoint chargers. Two in Langley, BC and two in Vancouver. In fact I'm charging at one of them right now. They have all worked really well with my keychain card. They all give me 29km to 30km of range per hour of charge. I hope they try to put at least 60amp or better yet 100amp chargers in going forward. 30amps in really quite slow, but I won't complain about free charging. I did not have to pay for parking at any of the four chargers that I used.

KenN · Mar 30, 2014

I'm waiting for my Chargepoint cards to arrive in the mail, but for now I've been using the app. By my unscientific observations, C/P seems to be one of the most common in the Vancouver downtown core, plus there are a few in surrounding areas. Since I live in N Van, there are enough in key locations (Like MEC, CNV Library) to make it worth while having.

The app is a bit slow to go through the find station/select station/start charge steps, and a bit of a bother on a rainy day ... so I look forward to getting the cards for a much quicker process.

Pairtrader ... seems we took delivery on the same day, and mine is almost identical, other than the P!

pairtrader · Mar 30, 2014

KenN said:
Pairtrader ... seems we took delivery on the same day, and mine is almost identical, other than the P!

I think I saw your car on the lot. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

Anyone have a ChargePoint membership card in Canada?

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