Our Electric Vehicle Gap

Our Electrical Vehicle Gap

Philly lags behind other cities in putting city-owned electric cars on the street. Might SEPTA, of all places, be the model for how to turn that around?

Apr. thirty, 2018

On April 20, Mayor Jim Kenney signed a bill to officially kill a program designed to encourage residents to buy electric cars. Until last yr, when a moratorium on the programme began, electric vehicle owners could apply for "EV just" spaces in front of their homes, provided they paid for a charging station at the parking spot.

The optics are undoubtedly bad— a urban center with sustainability goals that loves to tout its greenish energy progress removes incentives for people to buy environmentally-sound cars so it tin salvage a few parking spots. Simply the parking spot plan had never been that successful. Threescore-viii people used it in a decade.

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The real trouble for Philly when information technology comes to electric cars has more to do with city government and less to practise with everyday residents. Philadelphia is far backside many of its peers when it comes to stocking its own fleet with electric vehicles and setting goals for the future.

The city has 21 plug-in electric vehicles, all police patrol cars. Between this current fiscal year and the next, another 20 Chevy Volts and 20 charging stations volition be added for various departments. The city's entire fleet consists of nearly 6,000 vehicles.

Right at present, out of several hundred cars and trucks used by police, the parks and streets departments and many other groups in city authorities, the metropolis has 21 plug-in electric vehicles, according to the Mayor's Office. Betwixt this current fiscal twelvemonth and the next, another 20 Chevy Volts and 20 charging stations will be added for various departments. The city's unabridged armada consists of virtually half dozen,000 vehicles.

As much equally highways and roads total of individual electrical cars endemic by Philadelphians would help the city, cities and states have only express ways in encouraging people to purchase them. When asked what municipalities could do to best introduce electric vehicles, PennFuture'southward energy center director, Rob Altenburg, says one of the primary steps should be increasing the number of electric fleet vehicles.

Other cities have made much greater progress. Los Angeles has lived up to a promise that at to the lowest degree 50 percent of its new vehicle purchases would be EV'south (though its BMW electric police cars aren't getting much use). San Francisco has a goal of having all city sedans electric by 2022. New York, with more than 700 city-owned EV's, wants to add 2,000 more to its gargantuan 30,000 vehicle armada by 2025. Chicago only got a $xv.5 million grant for 182 electrical vehicles and has a goal of a 25 percent electric fleet by 2023.

Los Angeles has lived upwardly to a hope that at least l per centum of its new vehicle purchases would exist electric. San Francisco has a goal of having all city sedans electrical by 2022. New York, with more than 700 metropolis-owned EV's, wants to add 2,000 more past 2025.

Meanwhile, Philly released a report on electric vehicles in March from a task force that spent months putting it together. I recommendation is "encourage EV armada adoption." Just the data is limited to saying city departments should "explore 'electric beginning' guidelines" when they purchase new vehicles. That's it. In that location's no benchmark to meet or specific plans for increasing the number of EV'due south.

Chris Puchalsky, manager of policy and strategic initiatives in the Mayor'southward Role of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, says "it's a fiddling likewise shortly for united states to set some long term goals that are informed by experience. That'due south what purchasing these (20) vehicles will do. Subsequently nosotros do that and see some of the issues and benefits nosotros'll be able to meliorate brand a long term programme."

City Hall and the Mayor'south Role can wait no further than SEPTA for an example of how to introduce EV's quickly. The transit agency has 884 diesel-hybrid buses on the streets at present and volition accept 1,272 by 2021. More importantly, SEPTA will take its offset all-electric buses by the cease of the year.

Two years ago, the company received a federal grant of $2.six million to pay for 25 electrical buses. Ron Hopkins, SEPTA's assistant general manager of vehicle applied science and maintenance, says it is the largest order of electric vehicles for any transit agency in the nation. The outset ane, produced by contractor Proterra, is being tested in Greenville, S.C., right now. Information technology is scheduled to be set by August, with a new electric double-decker to be introduced into SEPTA's fleet every calendar week until the full 25 are in Philly. The buses will run on routes 29 and 79 and be powered up at a new charging station in Due south Philly. They're expected to run for about ten hours when fully charged.

SEPTA will have nearly 200 diesel-hybrid buses on the streets by June and 575 by 2021. And the transit agency will have its first all-electric buses by the end of the year.

How much coin could be saved and dangerous emissions prevented? Hopkins isn't sure nevertheless. Simply he says the hybrid buses get 4.2 miles per gallon, compared to ii.5 for regular diesel fuel buses. The electrical buses will be fifty-fifty more efficient. They'll also be more pleasing for riders with a more aerodynamic wait and a rear window.

The distinctive advent could go a long manner to educating Philly residents about electrical. Altenburg says EV'south are a lot similar solar energy. They become more popular when people see their neighbors using them. Who better to accelerate a trend than city officials, by taking action to ensure Philly's many city-endemic vehicles aren't primarily gas guzzlers?

They desire usa to purchase electric vehicles. We should ask the same of them.

Correction: An before version of this story misstated the number of diesel-hybrid buses the has and will have by 2021.

Photo via SEPTA

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Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/our-electric-vehicle-gap/

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