How fast charging works for Ather electric scooters?

No discussion about electric scooters is ever complete without the electric scooter charger. As electric scooters continue to populate Indian roads at WARP speeds, the need for charging infrastructure to develop at a rapid pace is critical. And that’s where Ather is taking the lead: to ensure that no matter where you take your electric vehicle in the country, you’re never too far from a quick recharge.

A key part of Ather Energy’s charging infrastructure revolution is its fast charging network, or the Ather GridTM. With 2000+ Fast Charging Grid points (fast chargers) in over 170 cities in India (including 100+ Grid points each in Bengaluru and Delhi), Ather’s efforts towards building India’s electric scooter charging infrastructure is putting more riders at ease and allowing them to think about testing their vehicles for longer, inter-city trips.

In this article, lets take a look at the types of electric scooter chargers offered by Ather, to owners as well as the public, and the electric scooter fast charging infrastructure built by Ather, including the Ather fast charging cost.

Electric Scooter charger types

Before answering questions about Ather fast charging cost, let us first explore the options available to electric scooter owners.

1. Personal Charging: Every Ather scooter comes with a free personal electric scooter charger that can fit into any 5A socket, indoor or outdoor. This charger is meant to be used to charge your Ather for 6–8 hours overnight, so it’s ready to go when you are leaving for work in the morning.
2. Neighbourhood Charging: Tech parks, universities, malls and apartment complexes across top cities in India have had free electric scooter chargers installed within their premises. Check out the advantages of being an Ather Neighbourhood Charging host here.
3. Electric Scooter Fast Charging (Ather GridTM) : Any fast charging electric scooter following the connector standard, IS17017 (Part 2 / Sec 7) 2023 can use Ather’s fast charging network at a nominal cost. While on the road, you can top-up your fast charging scooter quickly with 15 km range added for every 10 minutes of charge.

Which charger to use when

Laptops, phones, tablets and even smartwatches now come with super-fast chargers, each claiming to be faster than the other. We’ve got so used to this that we expect even our electric scooter charger to give us our complete 110 km TrueRange before we can even finish a cup of coffee. But billions of kilometres of ride data collected over 5 years tells us that over 80% of owners use their Ather scooters for less than 25 km a day. Therefore, a single overnight slow charge for 6–8 hours with your personal charger should be enough for a few days of commuting to work and back, as well as the occasional grocery run!

If your university or office campus has a neighbourhood charging facility, then that could help even more in case of a change in plans that needs more range.

The Ather Grid fast charging network is meant solely for emergency charging, for when you’re unsure that your TrueRange can get you to your destination. Owners can also go on loooong trips to the countryside on their Ather electric scooters, with fast charging options placed strategically at highway exits of major cities.

Default charging behaviour dictates that owners use slow chargers for most situations, rather than pay to charge their electric scooter with fast charging. As of today, Ather’s fast charging network is free to use in most places across India, with the exception of 5 states — Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Even in these states, the cost of fast-charging is fairly nominal: ₹1/minute + GST.

Electric Scooter Fast Charging Infrastructure : Ather Grid

From the very start, we at Ather are committed to leading the charging infrastructure of the country. Even today, we launch Ather Grid points for electric scooter fast charging even before selling a single new scooter in any new market. What’s more, these Grid points also provide significant revenue opportunities for the host, along with full reimbursement of their electricity expenditure.

But we know that just setting up Ather GridTM points is not enough. It’s also about providing convenience in usage, something taken care of by the Ather App on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app helps you search for Grid points nearby and their availability (information you can get on the dashboard of your Ather scooter as well). The app tells you if a Grid point is under maintenance or closed for the night. It also gives you the fast charging status of your electric scooter, and lets you pay seamlessly.

Fast charging electric scooters and their riding experiences are more seamless today due to the existence of the Ather Grid network. As the numbers of electric vehicles on the roads increase, so will the number of Ather Grid points, ready to give your ride a quick boost. Top up your fast charging scooter or a scooty with the Ather Grid today.

How fast charging works for Ather electric scooters? was originally published in Ather Energy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.