This spring, electric transportation came under political attack at the federal level, fueled by disinformation and a desire to preserve the grip of gas and diesel-powered transportation on our economy for as long as possible. However, when we focus on what is happening at the regional, local, and personal levels, EVs continue to demonstrate their viability and desirability across a wide range of use cases.
Over the past few months, I had the opportunity to visit a school district in the mountains of North Carolina that is adopting electric school buses and speak with the fleet director, a mechanic, and a bus driver. What they had to say about electric buses may surprise you.
Next, I was able to attend an inspiring ribbon-cutting ceremony for Carolina Carshare, an EV car share program that SACE has helped establish at affordable housing developments in Charlotte, North Carolina, to help address mobility challenges residents face.
And lastly, my wife and I got to celebrate our children’s graduations from college and graduate school with simultaneous EV road trips to the Okefenokee Swamp for a paddling adventure and the Virginia Creeper Trail for some cycling fun. How were our EV road trip experiences? Spoiler alert: flawless.
So, from where I sit, and despite what the politicians want you to think, the electric horse has left the barn. The sooner we all saddle up and ride, the sooner we start enhancing our nation’s energy security by distancing America from the politically and economically volatile global oil industry, reducing the cost of transportation for households and fleets, and addressing the damage tailpipe pollution wreaks on public health and the climate.
Giddyup!
Ensuring our kids have a clean ride to school
In April, I got to visit rural Transylvania County in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where a quiet shift to electric school buses is redefining what’s possible in rural Appalachia for student health, community stewardship, and small-town resilience. My colleagues and I got to interview the county school bus fleet director, the bus driver, and the bus technician, all of whom had one thing in common: they love electric school buses. Yet despite the many health, financial, and environmental benefits these buses are bringing to school districts across the Southeast, federal funds for electric school buses have been frozen. If you, like me, are interested in standing up for electric school buses, you can use our quick form to tell your members of Congress to protect this funding and ensure our kids have a clean ride to school. Read more.
Butts in EV seats: The launch of Carolina Carshare
In April, I also got to help launch the Southeast’s first affordable housing-focused EV carshare program, dubbed Carolina Carshare. The program will provide four sites across Charlotte, North Carolina with two used Chevy Bolts plus charging infrastructure. For a reasonable cost of $5/hour (max $50/day), residents like Lucius Johnson can reserve the EVs for daily errands, medical appointments, and commutes without the high cost of car ownership. In addition to supporting mobility, programs like Carolina Carshare address a top barrier to EV adoption: the lack of consumer awareness of the benefits EVs offer, including a quiet, high-performance, emissions-free ride and lower operational costs. In other words, carshares get a lot of butts in EV seats! Read more.
One family, two EV road trips
My kids graduated from college the spring, I took my son on a 1,000-mile road trip in our Tesla Model Y to paddle deep into the Okefenokee Swamp Wildlife Refuge. Meanwhile, my wife took our daughter on a 400-mile road trip in our Chevy Bolt to pedal along the Virginia Creeper Trail. Thanks to a mix of reliable fast charging and slow trickle charging where we slept, our family’s simultaneous EV road trips were as convenient as if we drove gas cars…and a lot more fun. Because my wife could plug the Bolt into an external wall outlet at the vacation rental, she did not need to stop at a fast charger on the way home. Because I could juice up the Y at an outlet in the campground, I only had to stop at two fast chargers on the way home. If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that my family is no stranger to an EV road trip. Yet despite the miles we put on our EVs, the maintenance remains almost nonexistent. Read more.
Want to join the EV conversation? Let’s connect on LinkedIn!
SACE’s Electrify the South program leverages research, advocacy, and outreach to accelerate the equitable transition to electric transportation across the Southeast. Visit ElectrifytheSouth.org to learn more and connect with us.
