Proposal:Charging Stations v2

Charging Stations v2
Proposal status:	Draft (under way)
Proposed by:	GA Kevin
Tagging:	amenity=charging_station, man_made=charge_point Data item
Applies to:
Definition:	2025 update to amenity=charging_station and it's elements.
Statistics:
Draft started:	2025-03-21

Background

amenity=charging_station has been around since 2015 and aims to give OSM contributors a way to represent charging stations and their associated (optional) elements and restrictions. Previous discussions in 2023 surrounding stations vs charge points led to a rough consensus surrounding the amenity=charging_station and man_made=charge_point. The main opposition to this proposal was the existing data and data consumers use of this tag was on an individual node and would now be associated with nodes or areas, consisting of many (sometimes implied) energy dispensers.

Proposal

This proposal aims to address the need for clear, consistent charging station tagging as the rise of Electric Vehicles (EVs) continues and with it the rise of charging infrastructure (such as Tesla's Supercharger network.) This proposal aims to align current nomenclature and address current technologies (as of 2025) while remaining flexible so future innovations can be added without needing significantly new tagging. Where possible, this proposal will take inspiration from amenity=fuel which is the well-established counterpart for use by Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles along with tagging surrounding utilities and camping (RV) hookups. As charging infrastructure can be as small as a single man_made=charge_point ( 11905340363 11905340363 ) or very large and complex (InstaVolt Superhub in the UK) this proposal will aim to make clear what elements and tags should be used at what level of mapping and size of station.

Comments

Please comment on the discussion page.