AAA is opening another electric car charging station in the Tristate. The new one is on Orphanage Road in Fort Wright. Spokesperson Cheryl Parker says AAA members and non-members alike can charge up their vehicles, free of charge.
“We want to provide a service to a growing motor vehicle population,” she says.
In 2013, the auto club opened a charging station on Red Bank Road in Fairfax, and Parker says it's been well received, averaging eight to ten users a month. ”We’ve seen a steady increase in usage since we opened. And with spring coming, we tend to see more usage during the spring and summer months.”
Parker says there aren't hard statistics on how many electric cars there are in the Tristate, but she says the number of places to buy one is increasing, as is another indicator. “We heard from the electric vehicle owner community that there’s a great void. There aren’t enough stations for them to get a charge, let alone a free charge. So that’s why it’s important for us to offer this for free, and make it as accessible as it can be for electric vehicle owners.”
Parker says there's still a lot of interest in electric cars, despite the decline in gas prices over the last year. “They do go up in the spring with refinery maintenance, and there are certain times of year you see the prices spike,” she says. “But even if the prices remain low, for people who are really interested in the electric vehicle options, I don’t think that the gas prices will deter them. It may make them think twice, but I don’t think it will deter them.”
Both stations are free and open 24 hours a day.
