As the National Day holiday travel rush peaked， concerns about electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure became a prominent topic of discussion. On October 1st， the hashtag “queueing by number for EV charging at highway service areas” trended on social media， sparking widespread debate.
One EV owner， Ms. Chen， who was returning to Hubei from Guangzhou， recounted her experience. Upon arriving at the Guanzhuang Service Area in Hunan at 7:30 PM on September 30th， she found over a dozen other drivers already waiting. A ticket-based system was in place for charging. Ms. Chen was assigned number 49. Given that each charging session takes approximately 40 minutes， she ended up waiting for three hours before she could charge her vehicle.
Staff from the Hunan Expressway New Energy Platform confirmed that they had deployed personnel to all service areas under their jurisdiction during the National Day holiday. When charging queueing situations arose， a numbering system was implemented. For instance， at service areas like Dongkou， Anjiang， and Taoling， this numbering service was active from the evening of September 30th to the morning of October 1st to maintain order.
With the travel peak now subsiding， are service areas still experiencing charging queues? Several service areas in Hunan indicated that the charging peak occurred on the night of September 29th， during which charging was limited to 80% of battery capacity to expedite turnover. Currently， with the traffic flow normalizing， most drivers can charge upon arrival without significant waiting times.
Regarding the attention drawn by the “queueing by number for charging” system， highway staff viewed it as a proactive management strategy. They explained that this numbering system effectively prevents conflicts and disputes. Previously， relying on self-managed queuing often led to arguments over cutting in line. The implementation of the numbering system has demonstrably improved order.
According to information released by Hunan Expressway Service Area Operation and Management Co.， Ltd.， the company stationed maintenance personnel at 30 key service areas and 60 charging stations during the National Day period. In high-traffic service areas， numbered queue tickets were distributed to drivers to enhance guidance.
Furthermore， at the Yaan Tianquan Service area， located on the popular Sichuan-Tibet Highway (G318) route， which typically experiences high traffic volumes， staff from the Ya’an-Kangding Expressway advised new energy vehicle owners to consider utilizing nearby alternative service areas to minimize waiting times.
