FastCompany on Electric Vehicles in Car Sharing Fleets
FastCompany published an interesting article this week on the challenges and benefits of including electric vehicles in car sharing fleets - something City CarShare has done successfully in the San Francisco area, and something the CEO, Rick Hutchinson, spoke about at Meeting of the Minds 2012.
An excerpt:
City CarShare, a popular nonprofit carsharing service in the Bay Area, has taken the plunge with both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). But CEO Rick Hutchinson told us at the recent Meeting of the Minds conference that the organization isn’t offering EVs for use because they’re cost-effective; they’re offering them to increase awareness--something City CarShare can do because it’s a nonprofit. So why don’t EVs make sense for all carsharing services?
City CarShare has a long history of offering EVs--the service’s first electric cars became available in 2003 (City CarShare was founded in 2001), when it conducted a pilot study of six vehicles. It didn’t pan out, obviously; modern EV technology was in its infancy then.
Now City CarShare has 20 EVs in its fleet of over 400 vehicles (two of the EVs are older conversions), with even more set to be added this year. So far, says Hutchinson, people are more comfortable with the PHEVs than the BEVs. "There’s no range anxiety. If people forget to plug in, they can still run [the car] on a hybrid engine."
Feed the full article here: Electric Cars Aren’t The Future Of Car Sharing—Yet
Discussion
Leave your comment below, or reply to others.
Read more from the Meeting of the Minds Blog
Spotlighting innovations in urban sustainability and connected technology
3 Lessons from Chula Vista to Help Clarify A Smart City Vision
Collaboration extends beyond City Hall. Unlike a city like New York, where most government functions are under the purview of the municipal government, a city the size of Chula Vista (population 268,000) or smaller has to collaborate with regional partners, such as school districts, hospital districts, water districts, the port district, and neighboring cities. By keeping dialogue open and working together on major projects we’ve opened up new opportunities for economic development, smart cities pilot initiatives and education.
Autonomous London
AVs can move more people in fewer vehicles on less congested streets compared to private cars. This means that some London streets could be made narrower and spare street space can be reallocated for other uses including bus lanes, cycling lanes, or expanded pavements. Street space can also be released for vegetation, allowing for cleaner streets and better storm water management.
California’s 2018 Climate Action Breakthrough
The 40-million people of California are not only growing the world’s fifth largest economy, they are accelerating the transition to use 100 percent renewables in less than 30 years. Recent success, shows that reaching 60 percent renewables for energy will be achieved and an enormous win for slowing global warming, improving health, efficient economy. Beyond 60 percent, there are several paths to carbon neutrality.
0 Comments