After you've created your first trip, you might be interested in some of the more advanced Trip Planner features available on plugshare.com. Select an option below for more on these features and how to use them!
- Reverse your trip
- Features in the list view
- Viewing a trip Overview
- Adding Wait Times
- Access all PlugShare filters
Alternate Trip Planner Resources:
- Trip Planner: Create a trip on the web
- Trip Planner: Create a trip on iOS (Apple)
- Trip Planner on Android app: Route Search
- Trip Planner: Elevation Data
- Trip Planner: Get directions
- Trip Planner: Add and remove stops/locations
- Trip Planner: Edit your route
- Trip Planner: Delete a trip
Reverse your trip
Now that you've travelled to your destination, you might want to plan your route back home. Trip Planner allows you to do just that!
Next to the trip name in the Trip Planner panel, there is a button that allows you to reverse your trip. It will reverse your start and destination locations as well as all of the stops along your route. You can reverse your trip and save it when you're ready to go, or you can save it as a new trip! To reverse your trip and save it as an additional, new trip to your PlugShare account:
- Click the 'Reverse' symbol next to the trip's name
- Change the Trip Name (we recommend indicating that it's a return from your original destination)
- Click "Save" from the menu below the listed stops
Whenever you change your trip name, the save button effectively "Saves as" a new trip. You'll want to double check your charging locations against your elevation data to ensure the same stops will work for your journey back, but most users are good to proceed with the original route and stops!
Features in the list view
Within the Trip Planner panel, you can review a list view of your planned trip. Within that list view, you'll find a number of subtle features that include:
- Information icon: Next to the listed location's name, this button will pinpoint the charging location on the map.
- X icon: Quickly remove a specific stop from the trip.
- Add Stop button: Get specific with where you want to add a stop between two locations on your trip. The trip's Range Radius will adjust to the stop before you clicked this button to provide you with range information on the map if you're choosing to add a charging location. It also provides a search feature, which is helpful for adding a specific location when you want to detour your trip.
- Drag and drop function: Need to rearrange some stops on your trip? You can drag and drop any locations between your start and destination for easy adjustments to your route!
- Center button: Quickly zoom onto and center your trip on the PlugShare map - handy if you've been hunting for detours!
Viewing a trip Overview
Do you want to review your trip details without the noise of locations on the map? The Overview button will hide all extra markers on the map, only showing the stops in your trip, and locking the trip for editing. This "Overview mode" provides a cleaner, easy to see view of your route.
Simple untoggle the Overview button to turn off the Overview mode and revert the map back into "editing mode."
Adding Wait Times
As you plot your trip, PlugShare will provide you with the total distance and an estimated travel time. Sometimes you want to include your time at stops to get a better idea for the overall travel time of your trip.
With the "Add Wait Times" feature, you can add an estimated amount of time you expect to stop at any given location on your route. To use it, you should:
- Scroll toward the end of the Trip Planner panel to check "Add Wait Times"
- Add an estimated wait time to each stop between your start and destination locations
Because these are estimated wait times, we generally recommend keeping wait times on the hour or half hour. Standard intervals are in half-hours, but you can type in any decimal/fraction that you want.
As a guide: Most stops for charging will take 60 minutes on average (DC type); at supercharger locations, your charging time is closer to 40 minutes. You might also want to account for time you take to eat, rest, or enjoy a particular location.
After wait times are added, you'll see a field for "Total Time Including Waiting" below the Total Distance of your route. The wait times you add will only impact this field; it will not affect anything else on your trip.
Access all PlugShare filters
Any standard PlugShare filters will apply to the Trip Planner tool. For quick access, we have the Hotel/Lodging amenity filter on the bottom of the Trip Planner panel as many users find it useful for your long distance trips.
To access the other standard filters, click the option for "Plugs, Networks, Amenities, PlugScore, etc" below the checkbox for Hotels/Lodging. This will bring up the standard Filters menu, at which point you can further narrow the charging locations that the Trip Planner will show you along your route.
Reminder: Filters can severely limit the locations shown, especially in less populated areas. Be careful when using too many filters for your trip!
