I share this guest post from Ted Cormier-Leger, a Franklin Town Councilor who recently returned from a Florida vacation. He documented his travails on Facebook, noting:

As some of you know, technology and I are not always friends. I would give our kids books with brown paper bag covers instead of chromebooks if I had my way. Anyway, I had no idea “EV manager special” at the car rental place meant electric vehicle. I thought maybe that was the managers name lol. Finally found a charging station. Damn thing doesn’t work. Found another and we seem to be doing the right thing. I know I sound old but I miss the gas station.

After several days, he shared the following for the blog:

“I might be smiling in the photo but trust me, I was not happy. If companies are going to rent out electric vehicles they need charging stations on or near the airports. Imagine my surprise when I was told the nearest one was 1/2 hour away from the airport in Sarasota, FL.”

“And perhaps rentals need to be equipped to charge more quickly? 9.5 hours to get a full charge when you are on vacation and in a far away city is crazy. The whole experience made what was supposed to be a fun long weekend very stressful.”

Ted, we certainly wish you better luck in the future, but you highlight some of the frustration that is hampering our transition away from fossil fuels. The situation must change if we are going to be successful and I assure you that we are trying to make the changes happen here in Massachusetts as soon as possible.