InfoHive – Transportation

 Valley ZEV Mobility Project, a $1.9 million California pilot program that gave 4 EV fleet vehicles and charging infrastructure to rural agricultural communities by creating green rideshare to grocery stores and medical appointments.

The pilot lasted 4 months and vanished during COVID. The EVs were transferred to Los Angeles and never returned. The 9 charging stations had no entity responsible for maintaining the chargers. Successful rural EV programs in California say the flaw in this program was that it was a private for profit company running the program from 300 miles away.

Governing | California’s Failed Remote EV Program Is a Cautionary Tale

A study published this month in the journal Science of the Total Environment found that in California, every 20 zero-emissions vehicles per 1,000 people in a given zip code led to a 3.2 percent drop in the rate of emergency room visits due to asthma.

This 7 year study found that as EV adoption grew, ER visits dropped.

Science Direct | California’s early transition to electric vehicles: Observed health and air quality co-benefits

Vox | It doesn’t take that many electric cars to improve public health

Let’s take a peek at Iowa’s EV charging tax. Iowa passed a tax on kilowatt hours of charging 4 years ago. The legislature is currently thinking about tweaking it.

When Iowa passed its kw tax on EV charging it also included an added registration fee for EVs and an excise tax for hydrogen fuel.

Some policy kinks: They didn’t consider the trucking industry adopting EVs, that homeowners charging at home would not be charged the EV charging tax and how to attribute taxes for chargers at apartment complexes.

Route Fifty | How One State Is Rolling Out an EV Charging Tax System

Greenification. It’s my new faux word for cities adding more trees and vegetation to roadways. In late 2022, we talked about a partnership Philadelphia entered into to add more fruit trees to its infrastructure to not only add green but also add access to fresh produce. 

Rio de Janeiro is looking at greenification not only for adding green space, but also architectural interest. Rio has a 4 part test to add more tropical foliage to neighborhood streets. 

The 4 part test:

• urban
• the streets must be multimodal; cars, bikes, pedestrian
• the neighborhood must be clean, safe and cosmopolitan for residents and tourists
• tropical plant suitable

Governing | Bringing the Jungle to City Streets

HF 413 (2023 | MN) would allow a single electric company to own chargers in Minnesota. Similar bills supporting the same company are under consideration in CO and NM.

The opposition is organized b y Charge Ahead partnership representing retailers, grocers, energy marketers, truck stops and convenience stores. They say “allowing ratepayer-supported utilities such as Xcel Energy to own EV charging infrastructure will stifle the private market and raise customer power bills.”

Utility Dive | Minnesota electric vehicle legislation would allow Xcel Energy to corner charging market, retailers warn

South Carolina is considering amending its move over, slow down law. Most states have a law that requires drivers to slow down and/move over lane for first responders. South Carolina wants to extend this to any vehicle on the side of the road with its flashers on.

WYFF4 | SC legislature proposing changes to ‘Move Over, Slow Down’ law

NYC piloted a technology that will automatically reduce the speed of its fleet if a vehicle exceeds a certain speed. During the pilot vehicles drove legal limits 99% of the time and reduced rapid hard breaking by 36%. Pilot testing will continue through 2024 before full fleet rollout will be recommended.

Route Fifty | How One City is Cutting Down Speeding in Its Municipal Fleet

What is happening? Colorado’s Department of Transportation has a new task- to build affordable housing. The DOT hopes to attract and retain more workers by building places for workers to live in the mountains. How do you keep snow plow drivers? You build affordable housing for them.

Why is this important? We’ll remember a similar issue for sorts in Colorado that are building affordable housing to keep and retain employees.

Route Fifty | Colorado’s DOT Goes from Building Roads to Building Homes

What is happening? Automakers are suing over Massachusetts Right to Repair law the outcome of which will impact independent auto repair shops. If the right to repair law is overturned independent auto repair shops say they’d be forced out of business.

Route Fifty | A Massachusetts Law Protects the Right to Repair Your Own Car. Automakers Are Suing

What is happening? Meet Wyoming’s SJR004 (2023 | WY) that would ban the sale of EVs in Wyoming. Supporters say they support the fossil fuel industry, that wide spread use of electric vehicles are impractical in Wyoming, and environmental concerns over disposing of EV batteries.

Autoweek | Wyoming Legislators Want to Ban EVs by 2035

Washington Post | Wyoming GOP lawmaker pushes electric-car ban, then says he didn’t mean it