GO TO-U: Sustainable EV Charging - How Advanced Reservation Technology For EV Chargers Is Game-Charging

Electric vehicles have long been a part of our everyday life. It is estimated that in 2020, there were more than 10 million EVs in the world, and in 2022, this figure increased by 16.5 million. In the long run, the popularity of electric cars will skyrocket. According to IEA forecasts, by the end of the decade, there will be 145 million EVs in the world.

With the growing demand for electric cars, the need for the proper EV infrastructure is also growing. The Brussels Times estimates that more than 6.8 million chargers should be installed to meet the needs of European EV owners alone. To make this happen, 14 000 chargers should already be installed every week, while now there are only 2 000 new chargers appearing weekly.

For sure, governments, automakers, energy companies, operators and startups are making every effort to increase the number of chargers. However, installing devices is only one side of the coin. Effective development of EV charging infrastructure should also be supported by digital solutions, such as software, platforms, apps, etc. In other words, of great importance are aids that could help optimize the global charging network operation, as well as simplify the use and management of charging stations.

That's why the GO TO-U platform has developed an app with a advanced reservation technology. EV owners can easily find charging stations, check their availability at certain time periods, book the necessary charger and remotely control both the charging process and the reservation itself.

Reservation via the GO TO-U App: Charging Guaranteed

The reservation technology allows an EV driver to reserve a charger for a specific day and time at a specific location. The reservation ensures that when the EV driver arrives at the charging station, they will definitely be able to charge up their car. Thanks to this, drivers will avoid queues and situations when the station turns out to be inactive. Thus, planning everyday city trips and long-distance journeys becomes as efficient as possible.

"We have developed a charging station reservation technology. This means that when the user arrives at the pre-reserved charger, they can charge up without any queues," said Lena Artemenko, GO TO-U CPO.

The reservation technology is designed to make EV experience even more comfortable and easy. In the GO TO-U app, EV owners can reserve a convenient charging location at a convenient time. All you need to do is select the necessary charger on the app map and reserve it in a few clicks. After arriving at the station, one needs to connect the car to the charger and select the "Start charging" option in the app.

In general, reserving a charging station is very similar to buying an airline ticket: open a ticket booking service, choose a direction, dates, flight and preferred seats. After that, we book them and pay for them. Then one needs to arrive at the airport on time, board the plane and start their journey.

How to Reserve a Charger in the GO TO-U App: Step-By-Step Guide

The charging station reservation is generally intuitive and done in just a few clicks.

First, select the location and type of charger, and then click "Reserve".

Next, the system will prompt you to select a connector (if there are several available), as well as the day and time of a planned charging session (if the charger is in another country, the system will notify you about a different time zone).

If charging is paid, the system will prompt you to pay for the charging session first. And if you have changed your plans (you can edit or cancel your reservation in your user profile), you will receive a refund.

After all the settings are done, you must confirm your reservation. And everything is ready!

After confirming the reservation, the driver receives information with all the details. The system will also prompt you to add a charging session to your calendar and navigate to the charging location.Shortly before charging starts, the system will send you a reminder (push notification) about your reservation. After that, you can start charging in one click.

Reservation Feature Makes Good for Both EV Drivers and Businesses

In addition to the obvious advantages that the charger reservation technology offers to EV drivers, there is also business that can benefit from it. After all, the GO TO-U platform comprises both an app and a Back Office management system, which helps automate operational processes, predict and optimize the use of EV chargers. Back-Office provides complete information about the status of chargers (free/busy), charger load in real time, can identify users and monitor charging sessions. Technology also include charging station reservation management. Back-Office will help you:

• manage reserved sessions (edit/confirm/start/stop reservation);
• view information about the user who made the reservation (including car details);
• monitor how much kWh was used during the charging session;
• manage reservation time (start/end time);
• manage reservation history (maximum 7 days).

As you can see, the GO TO-U charging station reservation technology provides great opportunities for EV drivers and significantly improve their charging experience. At the same time, charging station operators can also benefit from the reservation feature contributing to the development of EV charging infrastructure. Reservation is an essential component of seamless EV charging. Hundreds of thousands of EV owners and thousands of businesses have already tried this technology and appreciated its efficiency.

Features of GO TO-U Reservation Technology

Standard reservations commonly used in most cases do not solve the problem of charging optimization. Typically, their functionality is limited to blocking the connector for a specific period of time. GO TO-U is the only solution on the market that utilizes interval-based reservation, significantly optimizing the charging process. Here are a few examples that vividly illustrate the difference between the advanced reservation technology GO TO-U and other solutions.

As we can see, the advanced reservation technology provides extensive opportunities for electric vehicle drivers, enhancing their charging experience. At the same time, reservation capability can be highly beneficial for charging station operators, contributing to the development of charging infrastructure. This feature is an important component of the charging process, and its high value and efficiency have already been appreciated by hundreds of thousands of EV owners and thousands of businesses.

About GO TO-U

GO TO-U was founded in 2017 to accelerate transport decarbonization by making the experience of driving and charging electric vehicles simpler, more comfortable, and more accessible. At GO TO-U we put users at the center of GO TO-U software solutions for EV charging management and operations so we can create a seamless experience for both charge point operators and drivers.