Which EV route planning app do you prefer please?

[DBedford]

Which route planner do you prefer and why please?

I thought I’d ask as going on holiday down to St Austell, and have a few butterflies over the limited number of charge points in the West Country, coupled with the fact we will be taking delivery of our first EV MG ZS TLR two days before hand.

We have all the apps loaded and cards at the ready!

Thanks for all comments

Typo with Zapmap sorry

 

[Jomarkh]

I use Zap-map but it is not on your list

 

[DBedford]

I use Zap-map but it is not on your list

Can’t correct my typo sorry

 

[Gomev]

You might want to have a look at these threads

Do people use ABRP to navigate as well as plan?

Hey I currently like and use Apple Maps to navigate my route. I am wondering if it is worth paying the upgrade subscription to allow A Better RoutePlanner (ABRP) to work via Apple car play for navigation. Curious to hear how other people are using it? I am curious how well it handles live...

www.mgevs.com

Route planning for EVs

Planning a little run on Sunday so to be able to answer some question I went on line to plug it into a route planner. The main ones don't cater for EVs at all, none seem to offer shortest route as an option. It matters because using the shortest route it could (theoretically) be done without a...

www.mgevs.com

 

[Gadget Geek]

I used to use Zap-Map to have a look in the area where I was, and ABRP to plan the route beforehand. However, both apps seem to be a bit "flakey" of late and I've started using Google Maps to plan journeys (You can select EV chargers in the menu) and Plugshare which I personally find has a better user interface.
Enjoy your holiday.

 

[Rolfe]

I have never been able to find out how to tell if a charger is in use on Plugshare. I had a page with instructions for using the app which seemed to be in American, and I couldn't even find the first thing I was supposed to do. So I gave up.

My feeling is that the chargers that have disappeared in ZapMap are ones that are not open to the public. However it would be useful to know that a hotel has chargers for guests. I missed out on a free type 2 charger at a hotel I was staying in for two nights, simply because it wasn't on ZapMap at all. I charged up at home before setting out and since the hotel was only 12 miles away, I had nowhere to put all that potentially free electricity!

 

[Gadget Geek]

This is quite a useful tutorial;

How to Use Plugshare - Charged Future

There are many features in Plugshare. This How to Use Plugshare tutorial walksthrough the top features for new users. Read the article to learn more!

www.chargedfuture.com

The colour coding on the map is as follows;

Green is for Public Charging Station (installed by business or government)
Orange is for High Power Stations (DC fast charge or SuperChargers)
Blue is for Residential Chargers (shared by PlugShare members)
Grey is for In-Use Stations (currently in use)

 

[Rolfe]

Thanks, I see a very few grey ones now. But there seems to be no way to tell, in respect of a site with multiple connectors, how many are in use and how many are not. ZapMap tells you that.

 

[Gadget Geek]

It's really easy.
First select the charger:

Then touch the name label to get the details:

Finally, scroll down to see what the chargers are and if they are in use:

 

[okohll]

Don't route plan as such on an app, but if I'm going to need to charge when out, have a look on PlugShare to see what's near, then maybe Electroverse to see if any of them are supported by that or whether I need another app, then use Google maps to get there - I trust that better for traffic etc.

 

[Gadget Geek]

If there are multiple chargers, the app will tell you how many there are and how many are in use.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Don't route plan as such on an app, but if I'm going to need to charge when out, have a look on PlugShare to see what's near, then maybe Electroverse to see if any of them are supported by that or whether I need another app, then use Google maps to get there - I trust that better for traffic etc.

If you have Plugshare in Android Auto, the planned route automatically comes up in Google Maps on the infotainment screen. I love it.

 

[Rolfe]

If there are multiple chargers, the app will tell you how many there are and how many are in use.
View attachment 18377

Hmmm. It's not doing that for the charging station I'm interested in. Whereas Zapmap has the right number of connectors (8 not 6) and is able to tell me which one is in use. It also has the price right (which is new actually). PlugShare is just saying there are six connectors and everything else is "unknown". (PlugShare does have the parking charges detailed though, which ZapMap doesn't.)

 

[m4rmite]

I've normally just mentally earmarked a charging station on my travels and they have been available when needed.
However, i had an email from Zapmap for 12 months subscription for 12 months- £29.99.
Seemed rude to turn that offer up. I'll let you know if it's any good when i actually use it

 

[slmorgan42]

I've normally just mentally earmarked a charging station on my travels and they have been available when needed.
However, i had an email from Zapmap for 12 months subscription for 12 months- £29.99.
Seemed rude to turn that offer up. I'll let you know if it's any good when i actually use it

Just looked at the app. It does seem that is their deal at the moment.

 

[Gomev]

Just looked at the app. It does seem that is their deal at the moment.

Not really surprised, the paid version doesn't seem to offer much of value in addition to the freebie version.

 

[slmorgan42]

I think the only thing I remember is be able to use it with carplay. But I could be mixing it up with another app as I have so many lol

 

[Sloucher]

I took out a premium membership to ABRP, but am regretting it already. It is a cumbersome non-intuitive pile of...well, you know. I think it must have been written by the same people who produced the hopeless ISmart app!

It's just horrible to use and never seems to work as described. I can't even get it to plot a route that will include tthe charging station that I want to use, as it just ignores any inputs I give it. The only reason I have stuck with it up until now is that it works with Android Auto.

It's a great idea in principle - if it worked as intended, but ABRP has just been poorly implemented and I don't have the time or patience to put up with it I'm afraid!

I'll use ZapMap and dead reckoning from now on.

 

[Gadget Geek]

I took out a premium membership to ABRP, but am regretting it already. It is a cumbersome non-intuitive pile of...well, you know. I think it must have been written by the same people who produced the hopeless ISmart app!

It's just horrible to use and never seems to work as described. I can't even get it to plot a route that will include tthe charging station that I want to use, as it just ignores any inputs I give it. The only reason I have stuck with it up until now is that it works with Android Auto.

It's a great idea in principle - if it worked as intended, but ABRP has just been poorly implemented and I don't have the time or patience to put up with it I'm afraid!

I'll use ZapMap and dead reckoning from now on.

Totally agree. I'm a recent convert to Plugshare, and I've got to say it is really easy to use. It works in Android Auto and uses Google Maps as its interface.

 

[Gomev]

I took out a premium membership to ABRP, but am regretting it already. It is a cumbersome non-intuitive pile of...well, you know. I think it must have been written by the same people who produced the hopeless ISmart app!

It's just horrible to use and never seems to work as described. I can't even get it to plot a route that will include tthe charging station that I want to use, as it just ignores any inputs I give it. The only reason I have stuck with it up until now is that it works with Android Auto.

It's a great idea in principle - if it worked as intended, but ABRP has just been poorly implemented and I don't have the time or patience to put up with it I'm afraid!

I'll use ZapMap and dead reckoning from now on.

Sorry to hear you have wasted some money and I entirely agree, not worth the time and effort involved using it.