Our Electric Road-Trip Future Looks a Lot Like Buc-ee's
The U.S. will need the kind of highway charging stops that make drivers want to hang out for half an hour, and this Texas big-box retail chain may have the right formula.
It’s not just about charging your EV. It’s about the destination.
Source: The Washington Post
Automakers are betting tens of billions of dollars on the expanding adoption of electric vehicles in the U.S. But a big hurdle for some consumers is the much longer time it takes to charge an EV than it does to refuel a gasoline-powered car. Buc-ee's Inc., a Texas-based chain of gas-station convenience stores that's expanding rapidly in the Southeast, could have the answer.
Buc-ee's offers the kind of road-trip experience that might convince suburban families they don't mind waiting a little longer on a highway stop — enough to make the switch to an EV. The key is understanding that a lot more goes into creating an appealing half-hour detour for EV charging than most existing gas stations are able to provide.