Crowdsourced data has a reputation problem: how do you trust a stranger's report? Here's the mechanism that makes it work.
The problem with a single report
One person saying "this station has diesel" could be right, out of date, or mistaken. A map built on unweighted single reports quickly becomes a map you can't trust. So the question isn't "did someone report this?" — it's "how fresh is it, and how many people agree?"
Three things travel with every report
Every record on Refuelia carries when it was reported, how many drivers have confirmed it, and what kind of data it is. Those three facts do most of the work:
- Freshness. A report from four minutes ago outranks one from six hours ago. Old reports visibly fade rather than pretending to be current.
- Confirmations. One report can be wrong; three independent drivers seeing the same thing rarely are. Agreement raises confidence.
- Source. A station's location comes from verified open map data. The price and live status are the parts only a real visit can confirm — so they're treated differently.
Think of it like a battery icon. A recent, confirmed report shows bright and full. An old, unconfirmed one shows faint — no fine print needed, you just know to double-check.
Why fading beats deleting
Refuelia doesn't just throw old data away, because "we don't know" is honest and useful too. Instead, confidence decays over time. A report that was solid this morning quietly loses weight through the day until a fresh confirmation revives it. You always know how much to trust what you're looking at.
Correcting bad data is fast
If something's wrong, any signed-in driver can fix it in seconds. Because corrections are as easy as reports, errors don't survive long in a well-travelled area. The busier a location, the more accurate its data becomes, which is exactly the property you want.
Your part in it
The model only works if drivers keep it fed. Confirming an accurate report is as valuable as filing a new one — it's the second data point that turns a guess into a fact. Every tap you contribute makes the next driver's decision a little safer.
Ready to use it? Open the live map to find real stations and chargers near you, check their current status, and add what you see for the next driver.