Parking at a public charging station: what are the rules?

Research by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has shown that there are almost 125,000 charging points available in the Netherlands, of which almost 5,000 are fast chargers. The number of public charging points is expected to only increase, with an expected 1.7 million units in 2030. This investment in charging infrastructure is beneficial for the EV owner, but comes at the expense of the number of available parking spaces.

Can you park a car with only a combustion engine at a public charging station? And what are the rules for a vehicle with an electric motor? You can read the answers in this article.

What is ‘charging station sticking’?

An electric vehicle must be charged in order to use it. With the high costs for the power network, it is becoming increasingly interesting to charge at a public charging station instead of your home charging station. In addition, it is not possible to install a charging station on every private property, so you have to use a public charging station anyway. When you stay at a public charging station while your battery is already fully charged, this is called charging station sticking. In most municipalities you can even receive a fine for sticking to a public charging station.

How long can you park at a public charging station?

Do you have a vehicle with a combustion engine? Then it is not allowed to park in the section that belongs to a public charging station. If you do, you risk a fine of 95 euros for wrong parking. Do you drive an EV? Then you can imagine that charging station sticking is annoying for other drivers of electric vehicles. That is why the General Local Ordinance, abbreviated APV, states that occupying a reserved place for a long time is prohibited. This rule is not very clear, because what exactly does ‘long-term’ mean? The answer to this question is difficult to give. In any case, it is advisable to keep a close eye on the status of your battery and to move your EV when the battery is full and no longer requires power from the charging station, in order to avoid a fine.

When is your EV fully charged?

It is difficult for enforcement to assess how long an EV has been fully charged. Nevertheless, fines are issued if you occupy a space at a public charging station for a long time while the battery is fully charged. How quickly the battery of your electric vehicle is charged depends on 3 factors: the capacity of your charging point, the on-board charger and the size of your battery. With most electric cars you can view the status of the battery in the linked mobile app. With this app you can control your car in addition to the battery status. For example, you can switch on the air conditioning or heating from a distance. At some charging stations, a green light lights up as soon as charging is complete. Prolonged burning of such an indicator can then lead to a fine.

Public charging with a charge card from Tankpas.nl

If you stick to the charging station, you will receive a fine from the municipality. However, the providers of charge cards and charge points also encourage not to stick around. This prevents irritation and inconveniences among EV drivers. With a Tankpas.nl charge card and keychain you have access to more than 350,000 charge points in the Netherlands and Belgium, including fast chargers. You can also use the Tankpas.nl pass for a charging station at home. The greater advantage of a charging station at home is that you cannot stick the charging station and therefore do not risk a fine if you park here all day or night. You can easily register your charging station with the unique code that you can find on the fuel card or key ring. In the app you will find price information of the various charging stations. When charging, you pay 1 cent per kWh, in addition to the standard charging rates of the charging station operator.

Do you want to compare different charge cards for public charging stations?