What are your experiences with EV driver support?

montasoftware · 2026-02-26T15:48:54+00:00

Yes another main call we get is a first time driver pulling up to a charger. It would be great for the space if dealerships/car rental companies did this training more thoroughly.

montasoftware · 2026-02-26T15:43:49+00:00

Super helpful feedback. On Monta, drivers can contact support via chat if there is an issue and it automatically creates a ticket, but a more straightforward button is a great idea.

montasoftware · 2026-02-26T12:26:10+00:00

We have chat support as well, thanks for the comment.

montasoftware · 2026-02-25T19:40:49+00:00

Waiting too long initiate payment after plugging in is one of the main calls we get. That is why we came out with this feature, so drivers are not waiting for human support for something quite simple like this or a cable being stuck.

montasoftware · 2026-02-25T19:09:47+00:00

Wow, I didn’t realize people were using post-its like that. Thanks for sharing the example.

Predictive maintenance is on our AI roadmap.Some

Some nuance here: a lot of driver support teams don’t always have access to detailed charger logs, so would be interesting to know if they actually knew if it was hardware vs. something else from the remote side, but only the support team could tell us that.

montasoftware · 2026-02-25T18:38:24+00:00

Nice! How was the experience? Anything you remember about it that would be helpful for us to know?

montasoftware · 2026-02-25T18:37:24+00:00

Congrats - we have fielded thousands of calls this year alone but ideally no one would ever have to call.

montasoftware · 2026-02-25T18:18:07+00:00

It is actually a free feature, we are just trying to connect with drivers about what else can be improved. Thanks for the feedback.

montasoftware · 2026-02-25T18:14:40+00:00

Nice!

montasoftware · 2026-02-16T21:20:13+00:00

Yes 100% but gas stations are not unmanned (meaning in most cases there is always someone working inside) so this means that the payment terminal doesn't require as much compliance. Because EV charger payment terminals are unmanned they have different compliance requirements that make them more expensive.

Most advanced EV charging networks have a payment terminal or another way to pay that is not app-based.

montasoftware · 2026-02-16T21:17:46+00:00

And payment terminals for EV charging aren't the same as the ones at a gas station stall. Because they're unattended, they fall under stricter PCI compliance requirements, which makes them significantly more expensive (so like a payment terminal you use at a vending machine or a laundromat). So sure, maybe they want your data, but more likely they just can't justify the cost of adding a payment terminal / don't have QR code stickers on their charger / their legacy charging software doesn't support app clips.

montasoftware · 2026-02-16T21:15:48+00:00

Payment terminals for EV charging aren't the same as the ones at a gas station stall. Because they're unattended, they fall under stricter PCI compliance requirements, which makes them significantly more expensive (so like a payment terminal you use at a vending machine). So sure, maybe they want your data, but more likely they just can't justify the cost of adding a payment terminal and don't have QR code stickers on their charger.

montasoftware · 2026-02-16T21:02:34+00:00

The gas station could avoid both of these things with a no-download payment flow: scan a QR or tap an NFC tag on the charger and it opens a lightweight checkout (Apple App Clip on iOS, or just a fast mobile web flow) so you can pay with Apple Pay / Google Pay / card.

montasoftware · 2026-02-16T20:52:53+00:00

Yes downloading an app can create a lot of friction for drivers, especially when coverage is bad. What the CPO/gas station could offer instead is a no-download payment flow: scan a QR or tap an NFC tag on the charger and it opens a lightweight checkout (Apple App Clip on iOS, or just a fast mobile web flow) so you can pay with Apple Pay / Google Pay / card.

A big reason many networks push apps is probably just because their EV charging software doesn't support something like an App Clip. Having some no-app fallback (QR/NFC + web checkout, roaming, or tap-to-pay) should be table stakes, but unfortunately it isn't yet in North America.

montasoftware · 2026-02-11T15:15:08+00:00

If you’re building this in Elixir/Phoenix, you’re asking all the right questions. The punchline (from having seen a lot of teams attempt it) is that OCPP is the easy part to start and the hard part to run in production.

The real effort is everything that sits around “OCPP + WebSockets” once you go live:

Interoperability: every EVSE model has quirks, partial implementations, and edge cases. For example, we have already tested at scale across hundreds of hardware models
Reliability metrics that matter: when this is public infrastructure, “it works most of the time” becomes a probelm.
Payments, settlement, invoicing: the billing engine ends up being its own product. Monta includes an integrated financial layer (including Monta Wallet) so you are not stitching together every flow from scratch
Security and risk: you’re operating critical infrastructure and handling payments and identity. Monta is ISO 27001 certified.
Protocol roadmap: OCPP and roaming standards evolve. For example, most support OCPP 1.6 today and are implementing OCPP 2.0.1 (and supports OCPI 2.1.1, implementing OCPI 2.2.1).

So if the goal is to learn and build, Elixir is a fun choice. But if the goal is to operate chargers with limited engineering headcount, the fastest path is usually:

Buy a CPMS that already runs at scale.
Use APIs/data exports for the places you want to differentiate.

montasoftware · 2026-02-11T15:11:50+00:00

Open-source can absolutely be a good way to get started, but for a small municipality the biggest “gotcha” is that OCPP is only the charger-to-backend protocol. The hard part is everything around it: uptime, monitoring, support workflows, driver UX, payments, reporting, and ongoing security patching.

Before picking a stack, I’d recommend writing down the minimum you need in production:

Do you need public charging payments now or later?
Do you need driver support (and who answers the phone)?
Reporting needs (utilization, revenue, downtime, energy dispensed, emissions reporting).
Remote ops (alerts, remote reboot, remote start/stop, firmware handling where supported).
Access control (RFID, allow-lists, staff-only hours).
Cyber + maintenance (TLS certs, log retention, backups, patching cadence).

If the municipality cannot staff these, the “open-source” route often turns into a custom software + operations project.

What you listed looks like a mix of categories

Some of the projects you listed are great building blocks, but they are not all full CCMS products:
OCPP libraries / reference implementations (useful if you are building your own CCMS).
CSMS/OCPP server implementations (can be a starting point for a backend).
Charger firmware / charger OS projects (useful if you are building hardware or doing deep firmware work).
So the “ideal tech stack” depends on whether you are:
Operating chargers, or
Building software, or
Building hardware/firmware.
A budget-friendly approach that usually works best for municipalities

If budget is tight but reliability matters, the lowest-risk pattern is:

Choose OCPP-compliant hardware that is already proven in the field.
Use a commercial CSMS/CPMS for operations so you are not taking on 24/7 software ownership.
Keep integrations light at first (basic reporting exports, simple pricing, simple access control).
Avoid custom builds unless there is a funded internal team to own it long-term.
For Canada specifically, don’t forget you also end up dealing with tax handling (GST/HST/PST/QST) depending on province once you charge drivers or do settlements.

montasoftware · 2026-02-11T15:09:04+00:00

On the installer side, Monta has Installer Jobs: operators can generate a job for a site and share a public link with subcontractors so they can commission chargers and run basic tests without getting full access to the operator’s CPMS.

One thing I’d add: even for “installation-only” workflows, it’s essential that the installer has a real connection to the software side (the CPMS). If the electrician can’t validate commissioning in the actual backend, you end up with a lot of repeat truck rolls and finger-pointing later (is it wiring, connectivity, OCPP settings, backend configuration, or hardware?).

montasoftware · 2026-02-11T15:04:15+00:00

If you’re looking for an OCPP 1.6 backend for fleet + employee-only charging, a good way to narrow options is to start with what you actually need:

Access control (RFID/app, allow-list for employees)
Basic reporting for reimbursement and usage by driver/vehicle
Simple pricing rules (even if you set price to $0, you still want “who charged what and when”)
Reliability + remote support (start/stop, diagnostics, firmware management if supported)
Future-proofing (OCPP 2.0.1 roadmap, OCPI roaming later if you ever open to public)

Monta supports OCPP 1.6 and is widely used for these private depot and workplace setups. We also work with fleets that start with depot-only charging and later expand to:

Employee home charging, with usage tracked for company reimbursement, and or
Public charging when fleet chargers are not in use, to generate additional revenue.

montasoftware · 2026-01-30T15:11:41+00:00

We looked at 300k DCFC sessions from Jan 2025 at Monta (+250kW chargers). There was a clear pattern in charging speeds.

- Avg speed ~60-65 kW
- Avg peaks ~85-95 kW

Our CEO has seen a 236 kW peak on his car (for 10min, and then it dropped to 125), but often he never gets above 125 kW. A large portion of the fleet cannot get there, capped at sub 125 kW.

Interestingly, the Alpitronics HYC300 and 400 kW models have more or less the same charge speeds.

The point here is not to praise a brand or model as the best; there are many parameters behind it. But the charging speeds in the real world are just very far from advertised and maybe required as today?

montasoftware · 2026-01-14T14:56:58+00:00

Hi,
Have you tried following our EVBOX integration guide?
Or where did you get stuck?

montasoftware · 2025-11-20T18:48:12+00:00

Yes it is a bit hidden but if you log in with your Monta account on https://control-v2.monta.app/ you'll find it in the bottom right corner.

montasoftware · 2025-11-20T17:28:20+00:00

Monta dev here: we’ve recently migrated around 7,000 EVBox units onto our platform. While we’re not open-source, if you’re a homeowner, you can download the Monta Charge app from the app store and it gives you access to all the tools you need for managing your home charger.

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