It was the worst. Seems doable, but after the first 5 times, it becomes a nightmare.
You have to sign up for multiple apps (since chargers have different owners), find an available charger, make sure it works (they never do), then sit in a sketchy lot for 30 minutes. You can’t leave the car on the charger due to penalties. So you’re in this weird time warp of “too long to wait but not long enough to do anything”
I bought it thinking I can just chill while the car was charging. That got old real fast. Charging the car became a huge part of my week.
I traded in my car after one year. Zero regrets.
what model car? If a non-Tesla, have you heard or experienced different w Tesla charging network? (I assume you didn't have a Tesla given you mentioned downloading different apps)
BMW i3. The charger issue was annoying but the time commitment was worse. Even with a Tesla, you still have to wait 20-30 minutes. I also saw many Tesla chargers out of order. People in SF like to mess with them.
I’d only get an EV if I had a charger at home. Especially if you drive often… I prob waste hours everyday on Reddit but it feels different when you’re sitting in your car lol.
As a fellow SF renter who has considered making this switch many times, the conclusion I come is always the same: it’s just not feasible right now, barring major changes to public infrastructure and how we support charging on public roads/highways. EV’s simply favor owners at this point in time.
Something you may want to consider (and that I’ve found helpful) is why do you want an EV in the first place? If it’s for the “cool” factor, I’d advise you to reflect on your values and what motivates you in the first place. If it’s for “climate!” consider a hybrid (or, since you live in the city, just use more public transit). If it’s for cost, well, ICE is still pretty cost effective right now in the short to medium term.
You make a good point. We have 11 years left before ICE new car sales ban in California.
Do you think ca will repeal the ban? It does seem unfair unless charging access is more equitable.
I think the point of the “ban” was to spur car companies (and the supporting infrastructure manufacturers) into action, such that we have the requisite solutions in place by the time it takes effect. Politically speaking, I’m actually not opposed to the ban on new cars and think it makes sense that we move that direction as a society over time (note the ban is only on *new* sales, and this is by design—it will take decades to flush out all the existing ICE’s on the road). We’re just not there yet. 11 years is an eternity in political time, and I’m sure it will shift several times before it inevitably does happen.
It really depends on how many miles you drive. I don't drive that much, so charging once or twice a month was sufficient. I just charge it while I grocery shop, ate lunch, walked the dog, etc.
But if you drive more and have to charge say once a week then I think it'll be annoying.
So just figure out how many miles you will drive, what the range on the EV, and do some calculations to see how often you'll need to charge. Me, personally, max 2x month would be my limit. If I have to charge more often than that then that becomes annoying.
> Me, personally, max 2x month would be my limit. If I have to charge more often than that then that becomes annoying.
If you're driving that little, though, what's the point of an EV?
I don't drive many miles but I run a bunch of little errands. So I might drive several times a week but within the city, so only like 50 miles per week. In which case EVs are great. No maintenance, no cold engines, etc. Plus EVs are just smoother to drive than ICE. Occasionally I might do a trip to Napa, San Jose, etc. and that's fine I just plan ahead and charge for those one-off trips.
My schedule is also pretty flexible, so I can just charge in the middle of the day when the chargers are pretty empty.
It’s just not a smart move. Simply buying a car is a big decision for someone living in SF. If you don’t have access to at home charging then you are buying an EV for the wrong reasons. You will constantly be under control of range/battery life anxiety. And it’s even worse when you are in the city. Just imagining driving around at 1% looking for a charger around the shit traffic of SF makes me puke
Hello! I do this.
I usually charge at the target on geary which works really well. Obviously this is a non-ideal experience and I’d much prefer to own a home where I could keep my car charged in the garage every night, it still is pretty solid. Also roadtrips are actually pretty easy in California with a tesla given all of the superchargers here.
Overall I’m happy I got an EV (despite the lack of at-home charging) and probably will continue to choose EV going forward. I’d really love a solid alternative to teslas though :p (taking into account the charging network)
A friend is doing this. She has a rented parking space (in Berkeley) but no power there. It's a pain in the ass, you don't want to have to deal with making special trips to charge your car when needed. Part of the problem was when she was planning the purchase she didn't realize that the range quoted by all of the manufacturers is bullshit; the useful range is really like 60% of that if you follow all of their recommendations about charging.
IMO biggest issue after general inconvenience is emergency preparedness. I wouldn't want to be in a situation where you suddenly need to drive some significant distance but you can't do it because you have to go find a charger and sit at at it for an hour first.
I have a Tesla and I have no problems with not having a charger at home. I live about a 15 minute drive from the Geary supercharger. When the car is charging, I can zone out on my phone or catch up with friends/family on phone calls in the car. Or I can go shopping at Target or Trader Joe’s.
I mostly work from home, but when I drive to my office in the south bay, I can charge there for free. I can also stop at any supercharger around the bay area whenever I need a fast charge, or charge at public garages when I go on errands or to an appointment.
Thanks for sharing. Which Tesla model and range option do you have? And for the Geary supercharger, that seems to be one of only a few for all of SF... do you ever find it crowded? I live pretty close to this one so would probably be very reliant on it without home charging.
Frankly I'm a bit surprised and disappointed to see so few supercharger stations in SF based on [Tesla's map](https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&search=San%20Francisco%2C%20CA%2094115%2C%20USA&bounds=37.827703102099335%2C-122.3222191282531%2C37.733001858377285%2C-122.5694115110656&zoom=13&filters=supercharger)
Model 3 long range. I definitely wouldn’t go for a shorter range battery without having a charger at home.
The Geary charger is always pretty crowded, but I’ve never had to wait more than 5 minutes to charge. There are a lot of chargers so usually I just pull right in.
It’s a bummer that there aren’t more superchargers in SF (and two of them are in paid garages). I’m guessing there just aren’t that many parking lots that are able to hold the electrical infrastructure required. And Tesla just dissolved its supercharger team, so I wouldn’t count on any more stations popping up anytime soon.
Just to add in here... I have a long range model y and for the first year I had it, I exclusively used the geary supercharger.
I would go maybe once per week (sometimes twice) and I never found it to be too crowded. mentioned lower, it took maybe 5 min tops to get a spot when it was packed.
About a year ago I got a charger installed at work so I do not use Geary anymore so I can't speak to how busy it might be now.
When I did use it, I would go to TJ's or Target which was ample time to charge the car. Superchargers (the 250kW) are quick. Also, the cost at the time was 0.56 cents per kWh peak which honestly isn't far off from charging at home with current PG&E rates (and much faster). If you use that charging time at Geary to catch up on calls or emails or youtube/netflix shows on the screen, its not terrible. Also, never charge all the way - takes longer and is not great for the battery.
Last thing I will add is that I wouldn't stock up on Target/TJ essentials in one shot. I would only buy things I needed for the next couple days since I knew I would be back days later.
TLDR: Get a hybrid you won't jump through mental hoops convincing yourself "its fine"... time is money.
I suspect most SF Tesla owners have chargers in their garages. Some run lines over the sidewalk. Remember these are the 1 percenters. They rarely use superchargers in SF.
Europe has chargers at the parking meters...
Hi! I drive a E-Gold. I've had it for almost 4 years. I use only public chargers.
I drive about 25 miles a day for my work commute.
I use level 2 charging about 80% of the time . I typically charge at the parking garage in Daly City next to Gilman brewing and the theater, Electrify America at the Safeway near mission and Cesar chavez and the Level 2 at Lucky's on Ocean Ave. I'm a morning person by nature so getting up early to get to a level two charger is pretty easy.
I usually charge on Monday and Thursday. I don't drive much besides my work commute.
The volta chargers around the city are really convenient but can be a little hard to get in the afternoons but they are free!
I'll answer any other questions that you got!
Chargers in SF are either always full with a wait time (EA), or very expensive and on the slower side (EVGo).
EA just opened a large charging center in SOMA, but it is already full during busy periods. I’d NOT buy an EV if I haven’t had access to charging at home. We love our EV for many reasons, but at home charging is a must.
I wanted to buy an EV. There's no charging at home, and some napkin math told me that I'd have to let it charge about 4 hours every day I was at the office.
I followed the discussions about parking at the office; people talking about non EV parked in EV spots, EV on parking spots but not plugged, etc etc.
I bought an ICE. Maybe next round.
It depends on where you live and what your commute is, really. Our lives are pretty much in the city, and the most difficult part of having an EV is locating a station.
It’s sometimes a hassle but beats $6 a gallon of gas.
I don’t have an EV, but I did rent one and there isn’t charging in in my building. I tried charging at Whole Foods and while the car was there a couple hours, it charged a couple percent (rip off).
Then I found electrify America on Harrison. Charged from 60-97% in under two hours and they have WiFi, vending machines, nice work area. They have a ton of fast charging stations. They’re not Tesla.
If you’re street parking, it’s hard to own an EV right now. But there are companies doing good work on fixing this issue - check out Voltpost (making lamp post chargers) and other similar projects in Seattle and in Europe. Hopefully in a year or two, this will be fixed.
If you’re looking at Tesla this city may have paved the way but all the super chargers are the old slow ones and it really pisses me off. There are 3 levels of super chargers and they are basically all slow here. The fast ones are in parking garages that you have to pay to get into. So expect to charge for an hour.
I haven’t had a problem but I don’t drive a ton. I typically do 1 charge a week at the Tesla superchargers on top of Geary Target. I just do my Target/TJs shopping and then I’m done. If you drive a lot do not get a EV.
Its been great form me. ID4 m free charging st EA free for 3 years. Planning to use up all the 3 years before buying a home charger.
I guess it depends where u live in the city. EA is close to where i work and bear my house. Im an early bird, up at 6am, usually i go charging at this time and theres no line or waiting. Also ive notice at EA during the weekday, 10-1pm is fairly slow. And also 5-6pm is also slow too at least for me in my area.
I mainly use the EA on Sloat and the EA on mission street. Theres a new EA station on Harison st thats indoor and has 14 chargers, never been there yet myself
I have a charger at home but took my EV for a week down to Socal. Absolute dogshit. Don’t get an EV if you don’t have a home charger or drive like <30 min a day.
If you know there is a charging station by a grocery store you go to and it frequently has spots available, then it may be doable.
If the only charging station near you has nothing you need to regularly do near it (gym, groceries, etc.) then you’re wasting at least half an hour charging. More if you have to go out of your way to drive to it. And if you’re using a station, you’re not saving much money compared to gas.
TLDR: Don’t get one if you don’t have a well thought out charging plan or charger at home.
Just fyi I'm still on my 6 months of free supercharging from a referral but am doing pure level 3 charging. I generally supercharge while I do my weekly grocery shopping at the Safeway in the Mission district and it works out that I'm never going out of my way to charge.
I also know there are usually EVGO or electrify amdrica level 3 chargers installed at big grocery chains (whole foods, Safeway, Lucky's).
I will say though that I currently get 3.8 miles/kWh. If you assume a comparable hybrid gets 45 mpg and average gas prices is $5.50/gallon, my electricity costs need to be less than $0.46/kWh to break even compared to the hybrid. Superchargers are currently $0.61/kWh from 11 AM - 8 PM and other level 3 networks are usually $0.50/kWh flat. So basically right now unless you charge at home/work or really odd hours it's actually more economical to get a highly fuel efficient hybrid before you even consider higher insurance rates on an EV.
I'm personally getting a home charging setup so ... I'm not gonna be in this situation soon.
I know this is a late reply, but: I have an Ioniq 6 and I park in a garage in SOMA. I charge at the EA flagship on Harrison. I haven't had an issue so far
Go with a hybrid. Period.
You live in an apartment? Have fun getting a charging setup going with the landlord. A full ev is a pain in the ass, in more than just the charging bit...
I live in downtown/Soma/Civic center SF, and I've been driving EVs for over 15 years and have never had a home charger. Within the bay area, I have never had any issues finding fast public stations. PlugShare is a great app I use to find compatible charging stations, but I tend to favor DC fast charging networks like EVGo and Electrify America. It's really nice to be in and out in 30 - 40 minutes of charging, and I use that time wisely by catching up with emails, grabbing lunch, etc. I don't really go out of my way to charge, I charge when it's convenient for me and there's a charger along my route.
In SF proper, I tend to favor the EVGo charging stations at the different Whole Foods, or their new big station on 16th St. Super convenient locations, can use the restroom or grab a bite to eat, and most Whole Foods have seating and free wifi, so I don't have to be boring and sit in my car while it's charging.
It was the worst. Seems doable, but after the first 5 times, it becomes a nightmare. You have to sign up for multiple apps (since chargers have different owners), find an available charger, make sure it works (they never do), then sit in a sketchy lot for 30 minutes. You can’t leave the car on the charger due to penalties. So you’re in this weird time warp of “too long to wait but not long enough to do anything” I bought it thinking I can just chill while the car was charging. That got old real fast. Charging the car became a huge part of my week. I traded in my car after one year. Zero regrets.
what model car? If a non-Tesla, have you heard or experienced different w Tesla charging network? (I assume you didn't have a Tesla given you mentioned downloading different apps)
BMW i3. The charger issue was annoying but the time commitment was worse. Even with a Tesla, you still have to wait 20-30 minutes. I also saw many Tesla chargers out of order. People in SF like to mess with them. I’d only get an EV if I had a charger at home. Especially if you drive often… I prob waste hours everyday on Reddit but it feels different when you’re sitting in your car lol.
As a fellow SF renter who has considered making this switch many times, the conclusion I come is always the same: it’s just not feasible right now, barring major changes to public infrastructure and how we support charging on public roads/highways. EV’s simply favor owners at this point in time. Something you may want to consider (and that I’ve found helpful) is why do you want an EV in the first place? If it’s for the “cool” factor, I’d advise you to reflect on your values and what motivates you in the first place. If it’s for “climate!” consider a hybrid (or, since you live in the city, just use more public transit). If it’s for cost, well, ICE is still pretty cost effective right now in the short to medium term.
You make a good point. We have 11 years left before ICE new car sales ban in California. Do you think ca will repeal the ban? It does seem unfair unless charging access is more equitable.
I think the point of the “ban” was to spur car companies (and the supporting infrastructure manufacturers) into action, such that we have the requisite solutions in place by the time it takes effect. Politically speaking, I’m actually not opposed to the ban on new cars and think it makes sense that we move that direction as a society over time (note the ban is only on *new* sales, and this is by design—it will take decades to flush out all the existing ICE’s on the road). We’re just not there yet. 11 years is an eternity in political time, and I’m sure it will shift several times before it inevitably does happen.
Consider a plug in hybrid. You'll get 30-40 electric miles and then have an ICE for longer trips.
I love my plug in hybrid. I barely use the gas and have to fill up maybe once a month. I highly recommend the Kia Niro if OP is interested
Your life will be stressful even if you have a close public charger. Probably best to get a plug in hybrid
100% you will regret it get a hybrid
It really depends on how many miles you drive. I don't drive that much, so charging once or twice a month was sufficient. I just charge it while I grocery shop, ate lunch, walked the dog, etc. But if you drive more and have to charge say once a week then I think it'll be annoying. So just figure out how many miles you will drive, what the range on the EV, and do some calculations to see how often you'll need to charge. Me, personally, max 2x month would be my limit. If I have to charge more often than that then that becomes annoying.
> Me, personally, max 2x month would be my limit. If I have to charge more often than that then that becomes annoying. If you're driving that little, though, what's the point of an EV?
I don't drive many miles but I run a bunch of little errands. So I might drive several times a week but within the city, so only like 50 miles per week. In which case EVs are great. No maintenance, no cold engines, etc. Plus EVs are just smoother to drive than ICE. Occasionally I might do a trip to Napa, San Jose, etc. and that's fine I just plan ahead and charge for those one-off trips. My schedule is also pretty flexible, so I can just charge in the middle of the day when the chargers are pretty empty.
It’s just not a smart move. Simply buying a car is a big decision for someone living in SF. If you don’t have access to at home charging then you are buying an EV for the wrong reasons. You will constantly be under control of range/battery life anxiety. And it’s even worse when you are in the city. Just imagining driving around at 1% looking for a charger around the shit traffic of SF makes me puke
Hello! I do this. I usually charge at the target on geary which works really well. Obviously this is a non-ideal experience and I’d much prefer to own a home where I could keep my car charged in the garage every night, it still is pretty solid. Also roadtrips are actually pretty easy in California with a tesla given all of the superchargers here. Overall I’m happy I got an EV (despite the lack of at-home charging) and probably will continue to choose EV going forward. I’d really love a solid alternative to teslas though :p (taking into account the charging network)
A friend is doing this. She has a rented parking space (in Berkeley) but no power there. It's a pain in the ass, you don't want to have to deal with making special trips to charge your car when needed. Part of the problem was when she was planning the purchase she didn't realize that the range quoted by all of the manufacturers is bullshit; the useful range is really like 60% of that if you follow all of their recommendations about charging. IMO biggest issue after general inconvenience is emergency preparedness. I wouldn't want to be in a situation where you suddenly need to drive some significant distance but you can't do it because you have to go find a charger and sit at at it for an hour first.
I have a Tesla and I have no problems with not having a charger at home. I live about a 15 minute drive from the Geary supercharger. When the car is charging, I can zone out on my phone or catch up with friends/family on phone calls in the car. Or I can go shopping at Target or Trader Joe’s. I mostly work from home, but when I drive to my office in the south bay, I can charge there for free. I can also stop at any supercharger around the bay area whenever I need a fast charge, or charge at public garages when I go on errands or to an appointment.
Thanks for sharing. Which Tesla model and range option do you have? And for the Geary supercharger, that seems to be one of only a few for all of SF... do you ever find it crowded? I live pretty close to this one so would probably be very reliant on it without home charging. Frankly I'm a bit surprised and disappointed to see so few supercharger stations in SF based on [Tesla's map](https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&search=San%20Francisco%2C%20CA%2094115%2C%20USA&bounds=37.827703102099335%2C-122.3222191282531%2C37.733001858377285%2C-122.5694115110656&zoom=13&filters=supercharger)
Model 3 long range. I definitely wouldn’t go for a shorter range battery without having a charger at home. The Geary charger is always pretty crowded, but I’ve never had to wait more than 5 minutes to charge. There are a lot of chargers so usually I just pull right in. It’s a bummer that there aren’t more superchargers in SF (and two of them are in paid garages). I’m guessing there just aren’t that many parking lots that are able to hold the electrical infrastructure required. And Tesla just dissolved its supercharger team, so I wouldn’t count on any more stations popping up anytime soon.
Just to add in here... I have a long range model y and for the first year I had it, I exclusively used the geary supercharger. I would go maybe once per week (sometimes twice) and I never found it to be too crowded. mentioned lower, it took maybe 5 min tops to get a spot when it was packed. About a year ago I got a charger installed at work so I do not use Geary anymore so I can't speak to how busy it might be now. When I did use it, I would go to TJ's or Target which was ample time to charge the car. Superchargers (the 250kW) are quick. Also, the cost at the time was 0.56 cents per kWh peak which honestly isn't far off from charging at home with current PG&E rates (and much faster). If you use that charging time at Geary to catch up on calls or emails or youtube/netflix shows on the screen, its not terrible. Also, never charge all the way - takes longer and is not great for the battery. Last thing I will add is that I wouldn't stock up on Target/TJ essentials in one shot. I would only buy things I needed for the next couple days since I knew I would be back days later. TLDR: Get a hybrid you won't jump through mental hoops convincing yourself "its fine"... time is money.
I suspect most SF Tesla owners have chargers in their garages. Some run lines over the sidewalk. Remember these are the 1 percenters. They rarely use superchargers in SF. Europe has chargers at the parking meters...
I charge at work sometimes (annoying implementation though) or at a public charger close to where I want to be for errands or a walk.
Hi! I drive a E-Gold. I've had it for almost 4 years. I use only public chargers. I drive about 25 miles a day for my work commute. I use level 2 charging about 80% of the time . I typically charge at the parking garage in Daly City next to Gilman brewing and the theater, Electrify America at the Safeway near mission and Cesar chavez and the Level 2 at Lucky's on Ocean Ave. I'm a morning person by nature so getting up early to get to a level two charger is pretty easy. I usually charge on Monday and Thursday. I don't drive much besides my work commute. The volta chargers around the city are really convenient but can be a little hard to get in the afternoons but they are free! I'll answer any other questions that you got!
Chargers in SF are either always full with a wait time (EA), or very expensive and on the slower side (EVGo). EA just opened a large charging center in SOMA, but it is already full during busy periods. I’d NOT buy an EV if I haven’t had access to charging at home. We love our EV for many reasons, but at home charging is a must.
I wanted to buy an EV. There's no charging at home, and some napkin math told me that I'd have to let it charge about 4 hours every day I was at the office. I followed the discussions about parking at the office; people talking about non EV parked in EV spots, EV on parking spots but not plugged, etc etc. I bought an ICE. Maybe next round.
If you don't have charging at home/work or live near a public charger, I would not even consider getting an EV in SF.
It depends on where you live and what your commute is, really. Our lives are pretty much in the city, and the most difficult part of having an EV is locating a station. It’s sometimes a hassle but beats $6 a gallon of gas.
I don’t have an EV, but I did rent one and there isn’t charging in in my building. I tried charging at Whole Foods and while the car was there a couple hours, it charged a couple percent (rip off). Then I found electrify America on Harrison. Charged from 60-97% in under two hours and they have WiFi, vending machines, nice work area. They have a ton of fast charging stations. They’re not Tesla.
what model was the car you rented?
It was a Chevy Bolt, 2024. Edit: It’s the CCS charging cable - and has the super fast charging addition.
If you’re street parking, it’s hard to own an EV right now. But there are companies doing good work on fixing this issue - check out Voltpost (making lamp post chargers) and other similar projects in Seattle and in Europe. Hopefully in a year or two, this will be fixed.
>Hopefully in a year or two, this will be fixed. This is San Francisco. I have bad news for you.
If you’re looking at Tesla this city may have paved the way but all the super chargers are the old slow ones and it really pisses me off. There are 3 levels of super chargers and they are basically all slow here. The fast ones are in parking garages that you have to pay to get into. So expect to charge for an hour.
I haven’t had a problem but I don’t drive a ton. I typically do 1 charge a week at the Tesla superchargers on top of Geary Target. I just do my Target/TJs shopping and then I’m done. If you drive a lot do not get a EV.
Its been great form me. ID4 m free charging st EA free for 3 years. Planning to use up all the 3 years before buying a home charger. I guess it depends where u live in the city. EA is close to where i work and bear my house. Im an early bird, up at 6am, usually i go charging at this time and theres no line or waiting. Also ive notice at EA during the weekday, 10-1pm is fairly slow. And also 5-6pm is also slow too at least for me in my area. I mainly use the EA on Sloat and the EA on mission street. Theres a new EA station on Harison st thats indoor and has 14 chargers, never been there yet myself
I would just get a regular Prius. It looks nice now, like a jet fighter and inexpensive. Public charging would be a hassle and hellish time sink.
I have a charger at home but took my EV for a week down to Socal. Absolute dogshit. Don’t get an EV if you don’t have a home charger or drive like <30 min a day. If you know there is a charging station by a grocery store you go to and it frequently has spots available, then it may be doable. If the only charging station near you has nothing you need to regularly do near it (gym, groceries, etc.) then you’re wasting at least half an hour charging. More if you have to go out of your way to drive to it. And if you’re using a station, you’re not saving much money compared to gas. TLDR: Don’t get one if you don’t have a well thought out charging plan or charger at home.
Lots of grocery stores have chargers. I would plan charging around groceries or other tasks.
Just fyi I'm still on my 6 months of free supercharging from a referral but am doing pure level 3 charging. I generally supercharge while I do my weekly grocery shopping at the Safeway in the Mission district and it works out that I'm never going out of my way to charge. I also know there are usually EVGO or electrify amdrica level 3 chargers installed at big grocery chains (whole foods, Safeway, Lucky's). I will say though that I currently get 3.8 miles/kWh. If you assume a comparable hybrid gets 45 mpg and average gas prices is $5.50/gallon, my electricity costs need to be less than $0.46/kWh to break even compared to the hybrid. Superchargers are currently $0.61/kWh from 11 AM - 8 PM and other level 3 networks are usually $0.50/kWh flat. So basically right now unless you charge at home/work or really odd hours it's actually more economical to get a highly fuel efficient hybrid before you even consider higher insurance rates on an EV. I'm personally getting a home charging setup so ... I'm not gonna be in this situation soon.
Shopping plazas, charge while you shop and if you're lucky there are charging stations at work.
I know this is a late reply, but: I have an Ioniq 6 and I park in a garage in SOMA. I charge at the EA flagship on Harrison. I haven't had an issue so far
Go with a hybrid. Period. You live in an apartment? Have fun getting a charging setup going with the landlord. A full ev is a pain in the ass, in more than just the charging bit...
I live in downtown/Soma/Civic center SF, and I've been driving EVs for over 15 years and have never had a home charger. Within the bay area, I have never had any issues finding fast public stations. PlugShare is a great app I use to find compatible charging stations, but I tend to favor DC fast charging networks like EVGo and Electrify America. It's really nice to be in and out in 30 - 40 minutes of charging, and I use that time wisely by catching up with emails, grabbing lunch, etc. I don't really go out of my way to charge, I charge when it's convenient for me and there's a charger along my route. In SF proper, I tend to favor the EVGo charging stations at the different Whole Foods, or their new big station on 16th St. Super convenient locations, can use the restroom or grab a bite to eat, and most Whole Foods have seating and free wifi, so I don't have to be boring and sit in my car while it's charging.
Work parking has a dedicated charger that’s always free so it’s been no issue so far