EVgo offers help to those who need to drive during coronavirus pandemic

EVgo is stepping up to help anyone who still needs to drive their EV for work or are otherwise experiencing hardship due to COVID-19.

EVgo owns and operates more than 800 400V and higher direct-current fast charging (DCFC) locations and more than 1,000 208-240V alternating-current (Level 2) chargers in 66 metropolitan markets, making them the biggest non-proprietary EV charging network in the US. All their stations are equipped with both Chademo and CCS, and recently in San Francisco they even began offering Tesla connectors at their DCFC stations, a first-of-its-kind partnership. The company has continued its impressive growth since being acquired by LS Power late last year.

Now, EVgo is stepping up for those putting their EVs to good use during this pandemic with a 30% discount.

EVGO is encouraging people working in healthcare, grocery, food services, rideshare, delivery, or anyone experiencing hardship due to COVID-19 to call them at 1-877-494-3833 or email support@evgo.com. EVgo pricing varies by state depending on the cost of electricity.

If you still need to drive your EV for work in health care, grocery, food services, rideshare, delivery or are otherwise experiencing hardship due to #COVID19, call us to work with you on a special time-limited discount. Contact EVgo: (877) 494-3833 or support@evgo.com. #EVgo pic.twitter.com/hV7fitBWXa

— EVgo Fast Charging Network (@evgonetwork) March 21, 2020

Jonathan Levy, SVP of business development at EVgo, has been reaching out to leading delivery operators like Postmates, Grubhub, Seamless, and DoorDash to help share the message. EVgo already has a partnership with Uber. Levy tells Electrek that this was simply the right thing to do.

Update: Electrify America has also announced it will help out people who are dealing with the coronavirus. 

A statement from Electrify America regarding COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/dNxbPdENDP

— Electrify America (@ElectrifyAm) March 25, 2020

Electrek’s Take

Rideshare and delivery workers in the United States are generally characterized as “independent contractors” of the companies they work for, as opposed to employees of those firms. This means that by default, they are generally ineligible for unemployment insurance and other assistance programs.

So it’s wonderful that EVgo is doing this for the community of EV drivers, and I’m also extra happy to see long-suffering delivery drivers catch a break.