Driving into the Future: Universal Chargers Coming to New Jersey Turnpike

Now to our driving into the future series. This week we're talking about electric vehicle chargers. Universal charging stations will be operational tomorrow at six rest stops along the New Jersey turnpike. Yeah, they we've told you about this. They'll replace the Tesla superchargers. But what does this mean for electric vehicle owners? Our Nidia Han live in studio now to explain. Nidia. Yeah, this is good news for a lot of people. This is a big deal for EV drivers who need to juice up on the New Jersey Turnpike. It used to be non-Tesla owners had to use an adapter at those service station rest stops because the stops had only Tesla superchargers, but now that's changing. You have to build up the infrastructure uh because EVs are the wave of the future. Jason Barnes is an instructor with the auto technology program at Philadelphia Community College. He calls the switch to universal chargers a game changer. It has more than one way to charge the vehicles. uh universal charger. So, it has more than one connection to charge not individual vehicle, but more than one type of vehicle. To fill a car with gas, drivers just need to pull up and pay. But to charge an EV, some drivers have to carry an adapter in their trunk to connect to a Tesla charger. When the industry was extremely new, uh different manufacturers were using different ports or different chargers or different adapters. Barnes says the move to universal chargers means now you can charge your EV by just plugging in. It doesn't make a difference who makes the car. Uh Ford, uh Chevy, a Toyota. Apple Green Electric will operate the stalls at the six rust areas. The chargers deliver up to 350 kW of power, which they say can get you back on the road in minutes. Getting to the point where the the chargers will take uh they will be comparable to just filling up with gasoline. We're getting to that point. We put a link to where you can find the Universal Chargers on the Turnpike on the Driving into the Future page on 6abc.com. Lots to talk about you guys. Okay, Nidia, thank you for keeping us updated. We appreciate it.