Charging etiquette: eleven things that make a station work for everyone

Charging infrastructure is shared infrastructure. A few habits keep it usable.

1. Move when you are done. The single biggest cause of queues is a finished car still occupying the bay. Turn on session-complete notifications.
2. Do not charge to 100% on a DC bay. Above 80% the car slows charging dramatically. You are occupying a fast bay to gain very little. Go to 80% and move on.
3. Never unplug someone else's car. Even if it looks finished. Cars lock the connector for a reason.
4. Return the cable to the holster. A cable on wet ground is a hazard and it damages the gun.
5. Do not park an ICE car in a charging bay. Obvious, still happens daily.
6. Take the slower bay if you have the time. If you are parked for three hours, use the AC destination charger and leave the DC bay for someone passing through.
7. Report a broken unit. Thirty seconds in the app gets a technician dispatched. Silently driving to the next site means the next driver finds it broken too.
8. Queue in order. Where there is a waiting line, keep it. Where there is not, note who arrived before you.
9. Check the app before you drive out. Live availability exists so you do not arrive to a full site.
10. Leave the bay as you found it. Litter in charging bays is a genuinely widespread problem.
11. Be patient with new EV owners. Everyone fumbled the first connector. Helping someone plug in costs a minute.

None of this is enforced by software. It works because most drivers follow it.