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Idle Fees

Many vehicle charging points are found in locations where parking is in high demand, and the bays made available to EV drivers can be in high demand. Furthermore, a vehicle which has maximized it’s intake of energy generates no revenue whilst preventing other EV drivers from using that charge point. Idle Fees are a tool that can be employed by Charge Point Operators to disincentivize drivers from remaining in a charging bay after their vehicle has completed charging.

In normal charging, the controller would commit or finalize the payment amount when charging is completed. When employing Idle Fees, this final stage must be delayed, waiting until the charger is freed up before committing the final amount, which then includes any fees charged for idle time.

This approach requires feedback from systems outside of Payter’s control, typically the charge point, or charge point management system itself. The most common feedback is whether the vehicle remains plugged in or not, but other detections systems can be used in addition to, or instead of this.

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The key difference in this flow is that the final amount is not communicated to the Payter terminal until the vehicle is disconnected or removed.

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This flow requires configurable User Interface messaging, which can be achieved through the Apollo terminal, or the Chargers own display.

In the flow above, the driver is:

  • Made aware of the Idle Fees policy prior to committing to use the Charger
  • Breaches the Idle Fee conditions
  • Is shown the full amount including Idle Fee breakdown.

Idle Fee Risks​

Using Idle Fee’s are completely optional. They are designed to be used as a tool, to incentivize certain behavior in charge point Users. There are some inherent risks to this approach however:

  • Idle status identification usually requires the vehicle to be plugged in. Drivers can disconnect, but leave their vehicle in the charging bay, to avoid the fees
  • Idle fees can stack up, but payment is only guaranteed to the amount pre-authorized. We recommend that the Charger Controller either limits Idle Fees, or preferably that they use Incremental Authorizations.
  • Incremental Authorizations will ensure that the Charger Controller will be able to capture both the charge session value and the idle fees, up to the amount available in the Cardholder’s balance.
    • Incremental Authorizations are supported on the Apollo terminal family only
  • Idle fees are an attempt to solve a problem around demand and supply issues. Operators should consider managing this issue with other measures such as user messaging, choice architecture, variable pricing and physical parking enforcement.
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Idle Fee use can be complex and is not for everyone. Please contact us with any questions about Idle Fees, or discuss with your Account or Implementation Manager.