First I’ve heard of this:
“The SFMTA continually seeks to expand sustainable transportation options for those who live, work or visit San Francisco,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA Executive Director/CEO. “We are especially pleased that adding electric vehicles to the City’s green taxi fleet will increase neighborhood service by creating zero-emissions neighborhood taxis.”
So, should Nat Ford’s goal be to:
1. Fix MUNI; or
2. Expand sustainable transportation options?
No, you can’t say “both.” I vote for Fix MUNI. Anyway.
And I don’t know, there’s good reason why taxi drivers avoid The OutSet – not sure if electrification will help with that. What is the SFMTA going to do, force drivers to come back to the Outside Lands, the Great Sand Wastes, after every drop off? I’m sure WoTP people would like that but there’s no money in it for the drivers…
The Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid on Market Street, back before all of GM’s lies about it came to light:
Anyway:
“MAYOR NEWSOM ANNOUNCES MAJOR ADVANCES FOR BAY AREA ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE
Joint Efforts & Funding by City Governments, Businesses, and Agencies Will Make Bay Area a National Demonstration Project for Promise of Electric Vehicles
San Francisco, CA— Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced major steps toward making the San Francisco Bay Area a national demonstration project of the promise and potential of electric vehicles, with the award of $14 million in grants to support four innovative electric vehicle (EV) projects across the nine county region. The funds, awarded today by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), will leverage additional funds exceeding $30 million to put EVs in government fleets, taxis, and car-share programs, as well as develop a network of charging stations available to the public throughout the region.
“Two years ago, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and I announced our intention to make the Bay Area the epicenter of EV technology and boost our green economy,” said Mayor Newsom. “City governments, auto manufacturers and regional agencies have stepped up to the plate, and together we are making good on that commitment.”
In addition to supporting the build-out of public EV charging infrastructure throughout the Bay Area, the projects funded by this grant money will include purchasing approximately 90 plug-in vehicles and installing charging equipment to support them in municipal fleets, a car sharing electrification program and a pilot project for EV taxi cabs. This innovative taxi program will launch a fleet of taxis with rechargeable batteries for local neighborhood trips in San Francisco, and will also create the nation’s first battery-switch demonstration for a fleet of cabs built with switchable battery packs and served by battery-switch stations in San Francisco and San Jose.
“The SFMTA continually seeks to expand sustainable transportation options for those who live, work or visit San Francisco,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA Executive Director/CEO. “We are especially pleased that adding electric vehicles to the City’s green taxi fleet will increase neighborhood service by creating zero-emissions neighborhood taxis.”
The projects will go a long way toward ushering in a vibrant EV market in the region by expanding the number of Bay Area residents who experience driving or riding in plug-in vehicles, and by providing charging infrastructure that will encourage people to give up their gasoline cars.
“Zero-emissions EV technology will prove essential to meeting San Francisco’s greenhouse gas reduction goals when 51 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation,” said Melanie Nutter, San Francisco Environment Director. “EV technology also holds extraordinary promise for creating new jobs, reducing our reliance on foreign oil, and putting more money into consumers’ pocketbooks.” EVs cost approximately 3 cents per mile to operate, while a vehicle powered by a conventional internal combustion engine costs 13 cents per mile (based on gas at $3 per gallon).
To further leverage the efforts, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has recently set aside an additional $5 million to help install EV chargers in homes and in public locations over the next two years.”
