The goal of our site is to help you find an EV charging station and other alt fueling stations. Many listings also have a list of things to do within a reasonable (500m) walking distance to do while your car is charging.
While also providing some history on both the rise of EVs and alt fueling and the decline of 'traditonal' gas stations.
After Ford introduced his Model T, there of course became a need for somewhere to fuel them outside of your own fuel storage. It was just a matter of time until people demanded something more convenient.
The
first American gas station was opened in St. Louis in 1905. The second by Standard Oil (another story...), but that location would now be opened by what is now Chevron in 1907 in Seattle.
The first American driveup gas station that was drive-up gas station for refueling was build in 1913.
As more of the country gained access to cars, more gas stations were built.
There are currently around 168,000 gas stations which is down quite a bit from its peak.
Which happened long before alternative fueling stations made much of a dent. Improved 'traditional' cars and business consolidation caused most of the early decline.
Currenly there are around 68,000 alternative fueling locations which will likely overtake the 'traditional' fueling stations within the next decade. Or the numbers may become muddied and more complex to decipher as 'traditional' stations and convenience locations realize this and start to add more alternative fueling stations to their locations to stay aflot. More are being added daily.
With the ever-increasing speed at which EVs are being purchased there is, of course, a quickly growing demand for EV and other alternative refueling stations, but charging stations dominate the field.
EV sales grew by 85% in 2020 to 2021. Without the chip shortage in 2022 there would be even more EVs on the at the time of this writing.
The acceleration in EVs and other Plugins can easily be seen in the following chart:
So as you can see, the inevitable is upon us and, in my hopeful opinion, it is only a matter of time until traditional gasoline vehicles are confined to museums, car shows, memories, and stories shared with grandchildren who have never seen one. One can hope anyways. The climate can only take so much more.
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And the Electric Vehicle Recharging Station Award Goes to ...
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