Not to excuse or rationalize it, but... $2.49/hr pays for the electronics, housing, installation time, etc. If you see free charging (of any level), that means someone deliberately or coincidentally took the hit on installation. I have some municipal charging locations around me that are free, but only due to various subsidies. There are other accessible building outlets where 120V charging is free by default (for now), since I called up their staff. They said there is no official policy on plugging into accessible outlets. So as long as I'm not being a d*ck about it, I fully intend to draw maybe 70 cents of juice. Still, those unofficial outlets exist because the maintenance staff needed them, so the building owner took the hit on installation for me.
Handy rule in general: don't be a d*ck. If someone objects to you plugging in, be courteous. Even if that someone is just a bystander, calmly explain how little the electricity costs, etc. Don't get upset, don't be confrontational. As long as the EV community is small, every one of us becomes a de facto spokesman for the rest of us, like it or not.
Also, I can grumble and gripe about $2.49 charging, but I'd rather have it around for emergencies than nothing at all. I look at it like Starbucks: Starbucks prices make a lot more sense once you realize the drinks are basically milkshakes, and the store a modern-day soda fountain or candy shop. So I buy the occasional milkshake as a treat to myself; I would never go to Starbucks if I was fixing a daily coffee habit.
Carlos
