Tagging of supported vehicles for amenity=charging_station

General talk Tagging general discussion
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Hi everyone,

I’m working on a PR for the iD Tagging Schema that adds a field to indicate which types of vehicles can be charged at an amenity=charging_station.
PR link:
https://github.com/openstreetmap/id-tagging-schema/pull/1106

During the review, a few questions came up regarding which vehicle categories should be offered in the preset. The goal is not to replace existing OSM vehicle tags, but simply to reuse well-established categories in a clear and consistent way.

Before updating the PR, I’d like to get broader community feedback.

Questions for clarification

1. Which existing OSM vehicle classes should be used?

Several options were mentioned, but some terms are unclear or inconsistently defined across wiki languages:

  • hgv (vs. “truck”)

  • motorcycle

  • moped

  • bicycle

  • bus / psv

  • and whether any additional class is needed at all

The intention is to reuse existing, well-defined OSM vehicle categories and avoid inventing new terms.

2. Do we need a separate category like “small electric vehicles”?

This label exists on the wiki page for charging stations, but its meaning is vague:

  • Does it include scooters?

  • mopeds?

  • e-bikes?

  • mobility scooters?

Or should we avoid this term entirely and rely solely on the existing vehicle classes listed above?

3. Expected use cases

To understand how detailed the preset should be:
Which vehicle types actually have dedicated charging stations in practice?

Examples:

  • bus charging infrastructure

  • truck-only charging

  • motorcycle charging

  • micromobility-only stations

  • mixed stations

Examples or photos would help determine which categories are practical and necessary.

Goal

The aim is to:

  • use existing OSM vehicle categories where possible,

  • avoid ambiguous or newly invented terms,

  • keep the preset simple enough for mappers,

  • and remain consistent with established tagging.

Once there is agreement on the correct set of categories, I will update the PR accordingly.

Thanks in advance for your input!

2 Likes
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For bicycle and “small” then the plug / socket information will likely be sufficient. After all, you cannot charge a bicycle with a CCS or Chademo charger!

Then I think it comes down to size. A public charge point operator probably doesn’t care much what is plugged in as long as they pay. So for example, those that make large bay chargers for HGVs are likely happy for buses and coaches to charge their too.

Then you may have some that are entirely for private use of a local bus company. At that point, access=private may be sufficient.

There is also the question of whether bicycle (and other small) chargers should be on the same amenity=charging_station tag or should use their own top level tag.

2 Likes
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The wiki page for amenity=fuel states “If it can be used by large vehicles add hgv=yes.” No mention of bus, psv or other large vehicle types.

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on the other hand I would happily map “bicycle charging station” but I have no idea whatsoever about plug brands/codes/layouts

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I believe the ones I’ve seen for bicycles have all been “standard wall power socket, bring your own charging cable”

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This is the most common type. Very few locations offer a range of some 4-5 of the most common loading cables (plugs) for the dozens of different battery sockets.

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I think is really down to the socket.
We are having motorcycles with Type2 socket and i think the first CCS2 are not far away to roll to the streets.
So, when someone has a motorcycle with a specific socket capability, he sure can charge wherever this socket is available.

I don’t have experience in electric HGV’s in Greece, there is no such market yet, so we don’t have any specific charging stations for that purpose yet.
In my mapping i add motorcar=yes just to differ from bicycle or smaller charging stations.

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TL;DR: by itself, it is only slightly useful information. Tagging actual socket:* would be much, much, much more useful.

Let me introduce Type2 to Schuko and similar adapters :smiling_face_with_sunglasses: (random web example, I’m not affiliated nor even used them).

But main problem, as you note, is not whether e.g. bicycles is allowed to charge there – it is whether said charging station has a socket compatible with my bicycle.

It won’t do me absolutely any good if there is only socket:bosch_3pin=yes but my bicycle uses shimano_steps_5pin, even if bicycles are allowed via bicycle=yes.

bicycle=no is slightly more useful, as it tells me there is absolutely not any non-car-designated chargers (no shimano, no bosch, no schuko, no ropd, no xlr, …) so I should not even bother trying to go there with my low-on-battery bicycle.

However it is still somewhat misleading - (see adapter above) - it does not mean I cannot charge a bicycle there (if I was prepared), just that it isn’t designated for such purpose.

BTW, the same problem exist with cars too – it won’t do you any good if charging station marked with motorcar=yes does not have socket compatible with your car.

How are they all charged? I have no idea. But I’d know at least some portion of them have their own adapters and plug into e.g. regular Schuko household sockets. As some bicycles do so too, then tagging small_electric_vehicle=yes would be redundant.

If they however have separate standardized charging sockets (not compatible with ones for bicycles) then it might be useful to have them tagged separately.

But, as I noted above, what is actually useful is socket:* information, but that is of course harder to answer for non-dedicated mappers. :man_shrugging:

hgv=yes / bus=yes / psv=yes might be additionally useful to indicate that there is big enough parking/charging space for them (if they use same charging sockets as cars).

I don’t know how motorcycle / moped charging stations looks like, do they use the same sockets as for cars, or same sockets as for bicycles, or something completely different and incompatible? Has that been researched? Answer to that would IMHO lead to whether they should be tagged separately, or if they’re redundant.

I don’t even know what you mean by term “scooters”. :sweat_smile: Some mean moped-alike vehicles, some mean electrified kick-scooters.

I’ve heard of car-only, bicycle-only, bicycle-and-less, car+hgv, car + bicycle, car+bicycle-and-less. I assume car+bicycle(-and-less)+hgv could also be found.

“bicycle-and-less” are e.g. when generic Schuko household socket is provided, so you can charge anything you would charge at home (e.g. e-bicycle, e-kick-scooter, e-skateboard etc.)

Whether that “bicycles” also includes “mopeds”, “motorcycles”, “mobility scooters” and similar is unknown to me – to repeat once again, it depends on socket:* they use.