Electric vehicle charging stations on the rise in N.J.

Every morning, Joe Sokolowski gets into his electric 2013 Ford Focus, pulls out of his Cranford driveway and drives the 40 or so miles to his job in Flemington.

When lunch time rolls around, he zips over to the parking lot of the Hunterdon Medical Center, plugs his car into the public charging station and refuels his battery for the ride home later. Cost: $1 for the hour.

The hospital's charging station, installed earlier this month in collaboration with Raritan Township using a $10,000 Sustainable Jersey grant, can juice up two cars at a time and is available 24 hours a day.

While it is only the third public station in Hunterdon County, the number of chargers in Central Jersey in recent years has exploded to about 60, including a half-dozen coveted fast-charging stations that can recharge a plug-in car in a matter of minutes.

Most stations are located at car dealerships that sell electric vehicles, but they've also been installed in parking lots of hotels, restaurants, shops and office buildings.

More stations are on the way as electric car sales rev up and as lawmakers in Trenton consider ways to encourage installations.

In the meantime, websites and mobile apps like PlugShare allow drivers to find other electric car owners who offer up their home's charging outlet.

Jonathan Lewis of Montville offers the use of his residential charging station to other drivers through the site.

"PlugShare has been valuable to me and I feel it's right to return to favor to others," said Lewis, who purchased a Tesla last March. "It allows me to go much further on a trip and I don't have to go out of my way to find a dealer with a 'Supercharger.' "

He hasn't had a problem with other drivers using his charging station. "It's like a community," he said. "I'm going to Pennsylvania and will be using the same charging station of another PlugShare user that I've used many times before."

Lewis said this is the wave of the future. "As the technology and range continue to improve, more people will purchase electric and alternative vehicles," he said.

Chris Neff, of Mendham and treasurer of the New Jersey chapter of the national Electric Auto Association, has a vision of an electric vehicle in every driveway.

"Most of us have two cars in New Jersey," said Neff, who owns an orange BMW i3 REx, his third EV since 2009. "One (of those cars) should be an EV. If you still have doubts, just drive one. These cars are extremely fun, quick, efficient and make you eco-conscience."

Thinking before driving

"You have to plan ahead," said Eddie Cohen, 32, a middle school science supervisor who lives in Middlesex Borough and drives a Honda Fit.

Cohen says when he takes trips to the Jersey Shore, he makes sure he'll be able to plug into the Mansaquan shore home belonging to a lawyer who uses PlugShare. Users on the app can message each other and some leave their personal numbers for drivers to call ahead to see whether a residential charger will be available.

Most plug-in vehicles get a range of 80 miles on their battery. That range can reduce by half during the cold months. Using windshield wipers and headlights also cuts into the distance the car can travel, leading to what some drivers call "range anxiety."

But experienced drivers say such worries are misplaced. Most car owners stay within range. Cohen, for example, commutes 30 miles each way to work.

Most public stations use the 240-volt Level 2 chargers, which are good for storing up a few extra miles but can take several hours to fully charge. Plugging into a house socket would take all night.

The DeHart Street garage in Morristown offers a 120-volt wall outlet on Level 1 South Tower, as does the Hanover Marriott, for hotel guests only, at 1401 Rt. 10 in Whippany section of Hanover Township.

Commercial Furniture Resource has a J1772 EV Plug available in the front of its building on 355 West Dewey Ave. in Wharton.

BMW of Morristown, 111 Ridgedale Ave, Morristown has a BMW-branded Aerovironment charger available for use and Nissan World of Denville, has two J1772 EV Plug chargers located near the service area of the 3057 Route 10 dealership.

Students and employees of Rutgers University have access to chargers in New Brunswick and Piscataway. Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg has a charger, too.

Johnson & Johnson on Route 202 in Raritan Borough is among a growing number of workplaces with charging stations.

Level 3 fast-chargers, which use a high DC current, are available at the Holiday Inn hotels on Davidson Avenue in the Somerset section of Franklin and Tower Center Boulevard in East Brunswick.

More electric cars

InsideEVs.com, a site that tracks electric vehicle sales, counts about 300,000 plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads.

That may be a small slice of the 16.5 million new cars that hit the streets last year, but the fact that 120,000 electric vehicles were bought last year alone is one sign that interest in plug-in cars is taking off.

Consumers now have a choice of 19 electric models from BMW, Chevy, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Tesla and Toyota. The Nissan Leaf was the top seller last year with 30,200 cars sold.

In the next year or two, another 20 models are expected from Audi, Kia, Porsche and Volkswagen.

A study released last month by Plug In America, a nonprofit that advocates for plug-in vehicles, says one way to stoke interest and allay consumer fears is to make charging stations more available.

Last May, a state Senate committee approved a bill that would require the installation of natural-gas and electric charging stations at rest stops on the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway.

Tesla, the only manufacturer dedicated exclusively to electric cars, is building Supercharger stations at the Joyce Kilmer and Molly Pitcher stops on the Turnpike.

In addition to federal tax credits, in New Jersey fully electric vehicles are exempt from sales tax while both plug-ins and hybrids get a 10 percent discount off the off-peak E-Z Pass tolls and use the carpooling HOV lanes with no passengers.

Alex Brown, 42, who drives a Nissan Leaf, said that because he also has solar panels on the roof of his Metuchen house, "I'm driving for free."

Contributing: Eva Abreu; eabreu@gannettnj.com

Staff Writer Sergio Bichao: 908-243-6615; sbichao@mycentraljersey.com

Get educated at Electric Ride show

People interested in taking an electric car for a spin can attend the "Electric Ride" Electric Car Show and Gourmet Food Truck Event running from 6 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, at the Bridgewater Municipal Complex, 100 Commons Way.

The free community event, presented by the mayor's office and the Township Sustainability Task Force, will include an electric vehicle car show hosted by the New Jersey Electric Auto Association. Electric vehicle test drives will be offered by Nissan of Bridgewater, JMK BMW and Tesla Motors. A live musical performance, "Music at the Monument," will feature the local band Steel Groove. A host of gourmet food trucks will be available starting at 6 p.m. and the car show will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The "Electric Ride" car show, a first for the township, will offer residents the opportunity to meet with owners of electric vehicles to discuss the advantages of vehicle ownership. Local dealerships will offer individuals the opportunity to test drive the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, and Tesla Model S.

The event will also provide the culinary opportunity for residents to enjoy the current "street food" experience. Gourmet food trucks including Sisters Soup, Salad, and Sandwiches, The Empanada Lady, Smokin Chicks Got Wood BBQ, Falafull Vegan Street Food and Oink and Moo.

For more information on the event, contact Chris O. Poulsen, director of human services, at 908-725-5750 or at cpoulsen@bridgewaternj.gov.