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I was at Kai Tak on Sunday (2 Nov) afternoon and the chargers were all ICE'd. Another Tesla owner came and called the police. The police indicated it was a private matter between Tesla and the car park agency.
I called the Tesla hotline and dropped my DS and her boss a note to request some help here with the Kai Tak parking operator. I am pleased to say that when I went back to the Kai Tak supercharger on Wednesday they had cones blocking off the superchargers. Somebody between Tesla HK and the parking operator connected. So progress is being made.
I was in Cyperport yesterday and the Tesla Superchargers in Parking Lot 1&2, second floor, appear to be closer to completion. Can't be soon enough.
I called the Tesla hotline and dropped my DS and her boss a note to request some help here with the Kai Tak parking operator. I am pleased to say that when I went back to the Kai Tak supercharger on Wednesday they had cones blocking off the superchargers. Somebody between Tesla HK and the parking operator connected. So progress is being made.
I was in Cyperport yesterday and the Tesla Superchargers in Parking Lot 1&2, second floor, appear to be closer to completion. Can't be soon enough.
lx3h
Charged.hk's Director of Education
Cones, finally, that will be a great help. So far I haven't seen or heard of a coned charging spot being "un-coned" and ICEd. Next up: If we sponsor a sign that says something about Tesla Only - with added bonus info about Tesla Motors - would we be allowed to hang up that sign? Or maybe Signature Red surface paint for the parking spots (with "Tesla Only" white square insert, like in Lee Garden: #453 )
As the number of Tesla cars on the road increase, we need to look more seriously at some standards for charging etiquette - set the level and make a "default". Other Tesla owners will see those signs where you can contact the owner, and hopefully find them so useful they will do it themselves.
Show by doing, lead the way.
I might consider to make myself one sign with different options on, including my TMC handle.
tinyurl.com/HKTMC
I just made this link, it goes straight to the HK TMC subsection - feel free to use it
Any idea in making a standard template for a sign one can laminate (plasticise if you like), with TMC handle and link, SuperChargerQR and what other options there are (cross-platform Apps would be a better solution)? It doesn't have to be too big, one could even consider to find a place inside the read window to attach it.
Down to 45 km this morning and realized I am an electron junky. I ended up going to Kai Tak and fortunately three bays were open.
The cones were missing and the parking lot was filling up fast. After a bit of searching I found the cones.
Fellow public chargers I ask for your help on the keeping public charging available.
- Replace cones or signs when finished for the next person. Please don't just drive off and not replace the cones, signs or chains.
- Keep the public charging sites neat and clean. Throw away your trash. Empty cans and food wrappers at charge sites reflect poorly on us.
When charging at Kai Tak I turn my front "T" to flashing more. This attracts a lot of interest and questions on charging on the car. Has any created a FAQ on charging in HK in Cantonese I could hand out?
The cones were missing and the parking lot was filling up fast. After a bit of searching I found the cones.
Fellow public chargers I ask for your help on the keeping public charging available.
- Replace cones or signs when finished for the next person. Please don't just drive off and not replace the cones, signs or chains.
- Keep the public charging sites neat and clean. Throw away your trash. Empty cans and food wrappers at charge sites reflect poorly on us.
When charging at Kai Tak I turn my front "T" to flashing more. This attracts a lot of interest and questions on charging on the car. Has any created a FAQ on charging in HK in Cantonese I could hand out?
all MS's use the same frequency to open the charge point door. So if you pulled up then clicked the button on your cable if you're close enough to his it will pop open his door too.
Oops, I forgot about this, was in Kai Tak Monday evening, and didn't see any cones (didn't look for them either, forgot they were there).
Earlier that day, I was at Tuen Mun Town Plaza (phase 1), where there are two 13A spots - always coned off when I have been there, including today. Might as well use them, as they are free for now.
When I came back, a BMW which clearly wasn't charging electrons, had taken the liberty to remove the cone and the other marking that it is an EV spot:
(notice btw how these spots are too small for a Model S)
I took a picture of the car, so the license plate could be seen, and showed it at the "shroff office" - and they said they would call the driver to remove the car. Then what? They sent a woman with a walkie talkie to coordinate the operation, and then ...
I thought I better replace the cone, and also position the sign with EV parking in a way where the driver would not have any trouble finding the sign:
That should send a clear message I think.
Then I reported it to the TMC "meet up" whatsapp group, and people knowing I hold a stock of Tesla Motors brochures, the obvious was suggested. As suggested, so done:
There is no damage done, no rotten eggs or anything, just a little hint.
Charging etiquette? I don't expect much "etiquette" from most people with ICE cars - this driver was even prepared to move the cone to get access, surely a conscious act and not just an "Oh, I didn't see the sign" excuse. The first time I ever noticed a coned off spot being ICEd.
I wrote too soon; the cones at Kai Tak are apparently a gray area...
On the 9th the cones were at Kai Tak when I started charging around 11:00 am with one other Tesla there and two open slots. By 11:30 the parking attendant had taken the cones to the Octopus entry point so they couldn't be replaced. Within minutes the two empty spots were ICED.
In fairness to the ICE drivers there are no signs or any other indicators that these spots are for electric charging only.
On Monday the 10th one of the cones was back at the Tesla supercharger. It seems cone placement or reserving these spots for Teslas is at the discretion of the parking lot attendants.
I was advised by the service center hotline to call them and send pictures of the offending vehicles when this supercharger is ICED. When I was at the SC yesterday getting my SIM replaced, it was suggested that regular reporting by as many people as possible when the supercharger locations, especially at Kai Tak, are ICEd, will bring forward the day when the Kai Tak spaces are marked appropriately and perhaps even reserved for Tesla owners.
On the 9th the cones were at Kai Tak when I started charging around 11:00 am with one other Tesla there and two open slots. By 11:30 the parking attendant had taken the cones to the Octopus entry point so they couldn't be replaced. Within minutes the two empty spots were ICED.
In fairness to the ICE drivers there are no signs or any other indicators that these spots are for electric charging only.
On Monday the 10th one of the cones was back at the Tesla supercharger. It seems cone placement or reserving these spots for Teslas is at the discretion of the parking lot attendants.
I was advised by the service center hotline to call them and send pictures of the offending vehicles when this supercharger is ICED. When I was at the SC yesterday getting my SIM replaced, it was suggested that regular reporting by as many people as possible when the supercharger locations, especially at Kai Tak, are ICEd, will bring forward the day when the Kai Tak spaces are marked appropriately and perhaps even reserved for Tesla owners.
Update on Kai Tak supercharger slots:
I met with the operations manager at Kai Tak last week. I was hoping to understand what it would take be able to reserve the supercharging slots for prime weekend times, paint them red or some other way to differentiate them and find out the cost for making these special arrangements.
(The following is my understanding of the situation and is not meant to represent the official position of the cruise terminal or parking lot operator.)
Unfortunately, the terms and conditions from the government for the SC at Kai Tak do not permit exclusivity for any parking spaces, including the SC spaces. So neither venue operators like the restaurants or others like Tesla can lease or buy a dedicated spot. Both the cruise terminal operator and the parking lot operator face these constraints. My previous posting about the cones being placed in front of the SC parking spots were probably done by other owners and not the parking lot operator.
A typical cruise terminal would have over 1000 parking spaces, Kai Tak cruise terminal has only 130 spaces. Obviously an oversight in building design. Both the cruise operators and the parking lot operators would like additional spots and have reportedly approached the government if they could use some of the currently vacant land for additional parking spots until this land is developed. The relevant agencies did not want to pollute the view of these grassy areas with a parking lot.
Recommended actions:
1. Continue to report to Tesla when these slots are ICED and how much additional time it takes to charge. This is the only indication of demand that Tesla has for people waiting for these precious Kowloon/NT sites.
2. Continue to request additional SC sites in Kowloon/NT from Tesla. With 14 SC parking slots either on line or available shortly on Hong Kong Island vs 4 parking slots on this side of Victoria Harbour there is a big difference. These parking slots are not free - we paid for supercharging when we bought our cars. We need Tesla to deliver the capabilities in appropriate locations.
I met with the operations manager at Kai Tak last week. I was hoping to understand what it would take be able to reserve the supercharging slots for prime weekend times, paint them red or some other way to differentiate them and find out the cost for making these special arrangements.
(The following is my understanding of the situation and is not meant to represent the official position of the cruise terminal or parking lot operator.)
Unfortunately, the terms and conditions from the government for the SC at Kai Tak do not permit exclusivity for any parking spaces, including the SC spaces. So neither venue operators like the restaurants or others like Tesla can lease or buy a dedicated spot. Both the cruise terminal operator and the parking lot operator face these constraints. My previous posting about the cones being placed in front of the SC parking spots were probably done by other owners and not the parking lot operator.
A typical cruise terminal would have over 1000 parking spaces, Kai Tak cruise terminal has only 130 spaces. Obviously an oversight in building design. Both the cruise operators and the parking lot operators would like additional spots and have reportedly approached the government if they could use some of the currently vacant land for additional parking spots until this land is developed. The relevant agencies did not want to pollute the view of these grassy areas with a parking lot.
Recommended actions:
1. Continue to report to Tesla when these slots are ICED and how much additional time it takes to charge. This is the only indication of demand that Tesla has for people waiting for these precious Kowloon/NT sites.
2. Continue to request additional SC sites in Kowloon/NT from Tesla. With 14 SC parking slots either on line or available shortly on Hong Kong Island vs 4 parking slots on this side of Victoria Harbour there is a big difference. These parking slots are not free - we paid for supercharging when we bought our cars. We need Tesla to deliver the capabilities in appropriate locations.
There is a huge amount of unused space in there. Some of it looks like bus bays, but there is hardly anything at all when I have been there. Even when I saw it most busy, on October 1st, it was full inside the parking lot, full of nothing in the area outside of it.Typical Hong Kong, keep the supply low to make demand high? Or silly government red tape?In any case, there will be other SC locations eventually, and when there will be some closer to me, KT SC can do what they want. Except, it's still a shame they are only partly usable, due to these weird politics.If HK Government really put their effort into what they promote - like clean air initiatives - why are they being so obstructive? It's like pressing the brake and accelerator pedal at the same time - doesn't make any sense at all.
I also spoke to the Kai Tak manager. I understood those SC spots were not exclusive to Tesla. I did discuss with him about possibilities to reserve those four SC spots until certain number of cars were reached. Example: cones would be removed if 100 or more cars were in (80% usage excluding that 4 SC spots) the car park. The numbers should be readily available as it was displayed via the notice board. That way, it would not hurt their business while letting we Tesla drivers have the priority up to certain point. Let's keep knocking...
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