Special Supplement
Charged Up
ELECTRIFY AMERICA BRINGS AN ELECTRIC-CAR SHARE PROGRAM TO THE SACRAMENTO REGION
by Bill Sessa
Electrify America, an electric-vehicle car-
share program, aims to reduce the amount of
air pollution in Sacramento. Electrify Amer-
ica, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group,
one of the world’s largest car manufactur-
ers, is spending $44 million in Sacramento
for up to 160 chargers at seven sites for pub-
lic use and charging stations at transit hubs
for buses. The public chargers may be used
by any electric vehicle, and stations will be
in areas outside the downtown core to ex-
pand transportation options in low-income
and disadvantaged areas such as Oak Park,
Meadowview and north Sacramento. The charging network is augmented by two
Volkswagen has pledged to produce 22 and Land Park. Envoy will assign 140 Volk-
million electric vehicles worldwide by 2028 swagen e-Golfs at apartment buildings in
and plans to spend $2 billion nationwide, in- mostly low-income neighborhoods. It op-
cluding $800 million in California, over the erates 20 locations with about 40 charging
next 10 years to provide charging stations stations, but plans to have 71 locations and
to expand the infrastructure to meet the 142 charging stations from North Highlands
expected increase in electric vehicles. Volk- and north Sacramento to Florin and Mead-
swagen was ordered to create this program owview. n
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agen-
cy and the California Air Resources Board as
part of its settlement for cheating on emis-
car-sharing programs, Gig Car Share and En-
voy, giving residents the opportunity to pick
up a car in their neighborhood and drop it off
at their destination, making it available for
another driver, similar to JUMP bike service.
Users get access to the vehicles through
each company’s phone app.
Gig plans to have 260 of its electric
models within a 13-square-mile “Home-
Zone” that includes downtown, Midtown,
East Sacramento, Tahoe Park, Curtis Park
Bill Sessa is a Sacramento-based freelance
writer.
sion certification tests in 2015.
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