Comstock's magazine 1217 - December 2017 | Page 71

Electrify America will focus on developing a ZEV delivery
A recent report from the City of Sacramento outlining its
fleet and ZEV taxi provider in Sacramento. Under discussion EV strategy notes that currently most chargers are concen-
is electrifying transit from the Sacramento International Air- trated in downtown parking garages, with the remaining at
port to downtown, Levine says, which could involve working destinations like the UC Davis Medical Center and the Arden
with the taxi fleet and car-sharing services like Lyft and Uber. Way corridor. At least 35 percent of EA’s total investment is to
For Levine, a lifelong asthmatic, electric vehicle adop- be aimed at benefiting disadvantaged communities, includ-
tion goes beyond saving money at the gas station. “There’s a ing $2 to $3 million of the awareness campaign funds slated
health benefit to converting to our fleet. It’s a personal issue, for partnerships with entities that have access to, and cred-
it’s a passion, it’s everything,” he says.
ibility with, low-income and disadvantaged communities.
In its proposal for Green City status, the City of Sac-
“We want to be the place where the experiments hap-
ramento made its case by identifying “shovel ready” sites pen, where the real-world learning happens,” McKeever says.
that can accommodate installations for 15 chargers on City “Change is never smooth, so there will inevitably be physical,
property, including the Sacramento Valley Station, the Sac- economic and attitudinal changes to address, to move from
ramento Marina and Fairytale Town. VW’s investment plan a small segment of the population using electric vehicles, to
lays foundational work to begin in 2017, including the instal- being a mass-diffused technology.”
lation of 75 chargers throughout the city. Site development
for those is slated to start in early 2018, with development of
THE PACE OF CHANGE
all stations completed by the end of 2019. Currently Electrify Susan Brown, 66, lives on about $1,000 a month at the Sac-
America is evaluating proposals for car share providers and ramento Housing Authority’s Edge Water complex across the
identifying sites to prepare for infrastructure installation, street from the county jail on I Street. For six months Brown
City officials say.
didn’t have a car and relied on a bus that transported resi-
“There’s some time before we’re going to see physical dents to Walmart once a month for her groceries.
things on the ground,” says Jennifer Gress, staff lead for the
She felt stuck. She gained weight eating junk food from
City of Sacramento on the Green City initiative.
the corner market and says she became depressed. “These
The idea isn’t to have everyone
are huge issues that unless you’ve
owning EVs and driving them
been through it, it’s so hard to
downtown, McKeever says, as
grasp the importance of help-
that’s still just a less-pollutive
ing seniors to have their
congestion problem. “The goal
freedom, because we’re for-
is to get them into transit to
gotten,” Brown says.
get them into downtown —
That all changed for
we can have electric shuttles,
Brown earlier this year
getting people to the light rail
when, with the help of a $1.3
system, or clean buses bring-
million grant from CARB.
ing them to downtown.”
Sacramento Metropolitan Air
That
first
investment
Quality Management District
cycle cleared a significant
launched an electric vehicle
— Matt Carpenter, director of transportation services,
hurdle over the summer with
car-sharing pilot program
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
approval from the California
at her housing complex. She
Air Resources Board, after
was one of the first to sign up
the agency demanded more
for Our Community CarShare
details on how VW would invest
Sacramento, which provides resi-
in disadvantaged communities. The
dents of three Sacramento housing
specific locations of Green City investments will be spread projects with free access to eight electric Kia Souls. Six ve-
across Sacramento, a representative from Electrify America hicles are stationed at public housing complexes (Mutual
says in an email. “But Electrify America’s geospatial analysis Housing at Lemon Hill, Alder Grove Housing Complex, and
… shows that approximately 59 percent of the Sacramento Edge Water Housing Complex), and two vehicles are avail-
census tracts in the target geography for Green City Initiative able to registered users at the Sacramento Valley Station.
investments are designated as disadvantaged or low-income It’s this program that Electrify America intends to expand
by California.”
upon.
"There are already
sparks of innovation
here, and that's why
we were chosen."
December 2017 | comstocksmag.com
71