You can spot traditional fuel pumps from afar. All the fuel pumps are either located on the main roads in cities or on the highways. They are hard to miss due to their size. However, it’s completely different when it comes to EV charging stations. They are not as big as fuel pumps and are not necessarily located on the roads but at various places. Mostly at places where EV owners can spend their time while their car is being charged, as unlike filling traditional cars, charging your electric car will take on average 40-50 minutes to charge anywhere between 20-80%.
In this blog, we will explore the places where you can find them and how EV owners can make the most of them.
Highway Restaurants: Ideal if you are traveling between cities or states. You can use such charging stations as a pitstop for meal breaks. As while you get charged, your EV also will. Such charging stations will mostly have DC fast chargers so you can quickly charge and move on to your destination.
Shopping Malls: You can spot these stations in the parking lots of shopping malls. These kinds of stations will have a combination of AC slow and DC fast chargers. If you are visiting the mall for a quick shopping or dinner, we recommend you choose DC as it quickly charges your EV. If you are planning for a movie followed by dinner, we suggest opting for an AC slow charger.
Fuel Stations: Fuel stations like Indian Oil, BPCL, and Shell have set up charging stations in some of their fuel pumps, especially the pumps located on the highways. You can choose a DC fast charger if you want to quickly charge your EV and continue to your destination.
Resorts and Hotels: These kinds of charging stations are called destination chargers as you will be staying there for at least a day or overnight. Such places will have both AC and DC chargers. If you are going to stay at the hotels or resorts, you may want to opt for AC slow chargers.
Metro Stations: Cities like Delhi have an extensive network of metro trains. While not all, some metro stations have charging stations with a combination of AC and DC chargers. If you are a passerby, you may want to go for a quick charge with DC chargers. If you intend to park your EV and take the metro to your office, you may want to go for AC slow chargers.
Airports: Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore have charging hubs located at the airport. If you are waiting to receive someone, you may want to quickly charge while you are waiting, and if you want to leave your car and pick it up while flying back, you may want to go for AC slow chargers.

Showrooms and Service Centers: Most car brand showrooms will have slow chargers, and in case you are stuck and don’t have any stations nearby, you may want to charge your EV at these places. However, at the service centers, you will notice both AC and DC chargers, and you can use them as per your need.
Residential Areas: These are private charging stations meant only for the owners of the flats, but some societies are willing to open them up for outsiders as well. Big societies identify a common area and set up charging stations, and most owners have their own chargers right at their parking slot.
Workplaces: Some of the big corporate complexes are tying up with charging station operators to set up charging stations at their venues, and they are open for outsiders as well. These stations will sport both AC and DC chargers. If you are there for a meeting or passing by, you may want to opt for DC fast chargers, and if you are working there, the ideal would be AC slow chargers.
As the time to charge an EV takes time, it is important to locate stations where you can spend your time. Hence, the charging station operators work closely to ensure that the right chargers are set up at the right place so you don’t run out of charging. While they may not look as big as fuel pumps, they are being set up strategically.
To find these charging stations across different networks, you can download EV charging apps that list stations