Do you own a electric vehicle ( EV ) or are you considering to own one? It is a different lifestyle and those who choose this vehicle actually hope that there are not too many EVs out there crowding the charging stations.
Below list my top 3 apps I would recommend getting before making a EV purchase in Singapore. These apps will be able to help you decide whether a charging location is nearby your work/home. This will help you make informed decisions on whether an EV is for you. Download these app to check charging availability, location of the nearest station, the type of charging at location and the cost of charging / parking.
1) PlugShare – EV charging station map
Download PlugShare from AppStore or PlayStore to search for potential EV chargers nearby or at your destination for you to charge your electric vehicles in Singapore or around the world. This app is a social app just like waze where the more uses who uses this app, the more accurate the information is. So far it is not as informative as there are little Singapore uses posting their charging experience on the app.
For potential electric car owners, download the app to check locations for chargers you drive pass often, see reviews and whether the charging station is suitable for you.
Do you have a electric vehicle already? You MUST have this app to improve your EV experience. Find out the cost of charging your vehicle at the station before you arrive and filter the type of plug your vehicle uses to find only compatible charging ports for your vehicle. Nissan Leaf's could use Type 2, CHAdeMO or Commando Plug Connector Types. The Commando Plug charger will come with the car at the time of purchase.
2) Shell Recharge App
Shell Recharge are mostly located in their petrol stations but they do have some charging stations in carparks around the island. With their app on AppStore and PlayStore, you can easily gain access to destination chargers at petrol stations or malls.
I use this app very often, they use to be easily available but recently they have been replaced by SP Utilities charging station. Their quality of service is not that good in my opinion but at least they are making good steps to improve. You may like to purchase a RFID card however I find that using the app is enough for me. The advantage of having this RFID card is if your phone ran out of battery and you still need to start the charge or you would like to "queue" and plug in the other charging port while another car is charging at the station. Also, I avoid charging at paid car parks and this is where I would go to a nearby Shell Recharge Charger to charge and park my car. I would rather pay for charging instead of paying for parking, that is my mindset anyway. Check out my review at Newton's Shell Recharge Station here.
3) SP Utilities App
SP Utilities is a app where it is good to have it downloaded and get it ready for times where you may pass by a SP charger.
I only use it once in awhile, at stations like Sentosa when I visit that carpark and needed to charge while I'm there. I have not figured out how to use this charger yet but will update this post while I learn. This is a sharing site anyway :P The app can be used to manage your own home utilities and in the EV Charging section is where you can pay for your charging at SP Charging stations. You may also view whether the station is currently in use to better plan whether you will be using the station to charge at a certain destination. Do note that this does not show the possibility of someone parking at the lot that isn't charging
4) Plugit Cloud App
Some chargers use this service as their payment platform for their EV Chargers and I use this especially with Ikea Chargers. *YES IKEA has no more free charging available!
I only use this app if I happen to be at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre or at Ikea. This app is similar to CDG and straight forward, I would recommend using this service to get your occasional charging done at malls and at your destination.
5) CDG ENGIEE App
ComfortDelGro's very own EV app. This app is pretty easy to use, just add credit card and boom! Also, most of their chargers are located in HDB estates so you may not really need to use this.
This app is simple and straight forward. Nothing much to say about this service other than the fact that they are focused on public estates and hard to come by.
6) BlueCharge App
BlueSG's supplementary app where is specially for EV vehicle users. This app is a separate system from BlueSG so do not mix them up.
Subscription is required to use this service so do not roll up onto a BlueSG station and expect to be able to pay via credit card that day. BlueCharge is a service that is average at its best and has a lot of improvements that I would deem necessary to be useful at all. The subscription will take a few days to confirm after paying the initial $20/year subscription, remember that this does not include the price to charge your car. This service charge per hour so it would be best to maximize the hour to charge your vehicle. For example, if you start charging at 3:15pm, it would be ideal to stop charging at 3:14pm. Of course if you miss the minute you will be charged the next hour so be aware of your start time! The next thing to note about their chargers is that they run at a max of 3Kwh. They wouldn't be the fastest chargers but gets the job done. On a positive note, they allow reservation of the charging station before you arrive. This helps avoid the risk of you driving up to a charger and someone else beat you to it. I did race with someone to the charger once and I lost so that was actually a funny story.
