Petrol app Gaspy to add EV charging price monitoring

Gaspy, a locally created app that uses user submissions to track petrol and diesel prices, is set to add the price of electric vehicle charging to its roster.

The app will soon feature the charging networks of Z Energy, ChargeNet, and Tesla.

Speaking to EVs and Beyond, Gaspy director Mike Newton confirmed that the app is in its final phase of technology.

He expects that charging prices won’t just be submitted to the app by EV users, but also by other frequent Gaspy contributors, even if they don’t own an EV.

One of the main motivations behind adding charging prices to the Gaspy app, Newton says, is to improve the transparency of charger pricing, while also making it easier to locate chargers.

“It has come to our attention that some charging stations don’t even display their prices on site as traditional fuel stations are required by law to do,” Newton says.

“It is our hope that by including EVs in Gaspy this will draw attention to and improve these price transparency issues as well as helping EV owners to locate charging stations. Initial updates to Gaspy that include EV technology will start out small and no doubt evolve based on user feedback.

“We are committed to listening to the Carmunity and will continue to roll out multiple updates to ensure the most functional app possible for our EV owners.”

The Gaspy app shot to prominence earlier this year, following New Zealand’s surge in petrol prices. It surpassed one million users in May.

The app enables those shopping for petrol to know where the cheapest fuel in their region is, based on submissions from other Gaspy users.

Along with enabling users to score cheaper petrol, the app was also widely used by New Zealand’s media to track local petrol and diesel prices in real time.

Gaspy currently tracks pricing for 91, 95, 98, and 100 octane petrol, as well as diesel, LPG, and AdBlue/GoClear pricing.

Along with being able to monitor fuel costs, the Gaspy app can also be used for locating petrol stations that specifically offer bathrooms and barista coffee.

This could be a particularly handy feature for road-tripping electric vehicle owners planning out their journeys.