Ah, summer—it’s a time for longer days, beautiful weather and vacations. Given the ways COVID-19 has changed life as we know it, summer 2020 is an especially good time to get out on the open road for a little four-wheel-style social distancing. What better way to keep your distance than by enjoying the sunshine and seeing the sites in our little corner of Texas? As it happens, summertime 2020 is also a great time to see those sites in an electric vehicle (EV).
An Electric Vehicle Revolution is Coming
Since the emergence of Tesla in the early 2000s, EVs have come a long way in a market dominated by ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. Granted, EVs still have some distance to cover in terms of market saturation and price parity with ICE vehicles; but the wheels of an EV revolution are already well in motion. In fact, experts predict that the cost of owning an EV will be less than that of owning an ICE vehicle by 2024—five short years from now. By 2040, EVs are expected to comprise half of all vehicles sold. With EV range and the number of charging stations steadily increasing, range anxiety is fading further into the rear view mirror every year.
Since summer is revving up to full throttle this month and because social distancing is still part of everyone’s daily routine, we thought it a good time to highlight the potential for EV adventure out on the open roads of South Central Texas. Although there certainly aren’t as many EV “fueling” stations as there are for ICE vehicles—not yet, at least—there may be more than you think. That’s why we’re doing our part to help ease range anxiety and encourage social distancing by pointing out charging stations in and adjacent to GVEC’s service territory.
Happy summertime EV road tripping!
EV Charging Station Number 1
We start our EV road trip in Seguin at the GVEC Customer Service Center (CSC) there, located at 927 North Highway 46. This location offers a fast-charging option for quicker charge times.
EV Charging Station Number 2
Leaving the Seguin CSC, we hit Interstate Highway 10 (I-10) and head west toward our next stop: the GVEC Western Operations Center, also in Seguin. Located at 6400 Interstate Highway 10 (I-10), this location offers fast charging, too.
EV Charging Station Number 3
Heading west along I-10 toward San Antonio, our next stop finds us at the Alamo City Motorplex, located at 3641 South Santa Clara, Marion. This location features a Tesla proprietary charger, so if you’re not driving a Tesla, charging may not be available, or you may need an adaptor.
EV Charging Station Number 4
Next, we follow I-10 West as it leads into the northeastern outskirts of San Antonio. We merge onto Loop 1604 North toward Universal City, where stop number four awaits: Northeast Lakeview College, located at 1207 Kitty Hawk Road, Universal City.
EV Charging Station Number 5
Setting out from Northeast Lakeview College, we continue north along Loop 1604, stopping next at Kohl’s Department Store, located at 8098 Agora Parkway, Universal City.
EV Charging Station Number 6
From Kohl’s, we head north a little further on Loop 1604 until coming to Interstate Highway 35 (I-35), where we merge into the southbound lanes. From here, we drive to IKEA. This charger is adjacent to IKEA but has a separate address: 13905 I-35, Live Oak.
EV Charging Station Number 7
For stop number seven on our EV summer road trip, we continue along I-35 South, stopping at Jordan Ford, located at 13010 North I-35, Live Oak. Chargers at car dealerships can be tricky to find, so you might need to inquire inside for help finding this one.
EV Charging Station Number 8
Headed out from Jordan Ford, we merge from the feeder onto I-35 North, driving several miles to the eighth stop on our EV summer road trip: Gillman Mitsubishi, located at 16040 I-35, Selma.
EV Charging Station Number 9
From Gillman, we merge back onto I-35 North. Stop number nine on our EV summer road trip leads into Schertz and the newly opened Tesla Super Charger station there, located at 17460 I-35 North on the feeder. This one’s near the Schertz HEB Plus, as well as a number of restaurants and other businesses.
EV Charging Station Number 10
From the Schertz Tesla Super Charger, we again merge onto I-35 North. This time we’re headed into New Braunfels and Valmark Chevrolet, located at 725 I-35 North. Remember: Car dealership chargers can be tricky to find.
EV Charging Station Number 11
Next up is Bluebonnet Ford, New Braunfels, which is less than a half mile from Valmark Chevrolet along the I-35 North feeder. Located at 1611 Executive Drive, this one’s another of those tricky-to-spot dealership chargers.
EV Charging Station Number 12
We’re still traveling along the I-35 North feeder in New Braunfels for destination number 12, stopping this time at the Courtyard Inn, located at 750 I-35 North. In addition to standard EV charging access, the location features proprietary Tesla charging technology, too.
EV Charging Station Number 13
From the Courtyard Inn, we maintain our course north along the I-35 feeder in New Braunfels until coming to FM 306, where we head east. Stop number 13 is the New Braunfels Homewood Suites, located at 625 Oxford Drive. As with Courtyard Inn, this location features standard charging and Tesla proprietary connectors, too.
EV Charging Station Number 14
We emerge back west along FM 306 to again take the I-35 North feeder far enough to cut a U-turn and merge onto the I-35 South feeder. This will take us to EchoPark Automotive for stop number 14 on our EV summer road trip, located at 3191 I-35 Frontage Road.
EV Charging Station Number 15
Still headed south along the I-35 feeder, stop number 15 takes us to Nissan of New Braunfels, located at 2077 I-35 Frontage Road.
EV Charging Station Number 16
We’ve got one more stop on our EV summer road trip, this one in Gonzales, Texas. From Nissan of New Braunfels, we again head south on the I-35 feeder until coming to Texas State Highway 46. We take 46 East all the way to Seguin, where it intersects with Alternate (Alt) Highway 90. We take Alt 90 East all the way to the GVEC Gonzales CSC at 825 East Sarah DeWitt Drive. Unlike the first two GVEC stops along our route, this one doesn’t feature fast charging.
Get Out There and Drive
There you have it! A leisurely route for summertime EV road-tripping across GVEC’s service territory and adjoining areas. Keep in mind, the above list is a small sampling of chargers in our region. By our count, there are over 200 additional EV charger stations in the Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan area. Headed back in the other direction along I-35 South, we estimate around 125 or so EV chargers in the San Antonio area.
We wouldn’t anticipate any EV needing to charge at every location on the route we’ve outlined—or even more than once or twice. Modern EVs generally achieve 200 miles of range at minimum, with many getting significantly more. Of course, every make and model is different, so be sure you know your vehicle’s range before setting out. We’re still at the outset of the EV revolution, too, so we anticipate this list will grow exponentially in the years ahead and that EV range will continue increasing, too.
To chart the course for our EV summer road trip, we used the tools at plugshare.com. There are many such tools available, though, and we suggest researching various sites and apps in mapping out your own EV summer road trip. For more information on GVEC’s public EV chargers, call us at 800.223.4832 or visit gvec.org.
