June 28, 2022—Multiple cities across the United States have participated in the American Cities Climate Challenge as a way to boost infrastructure and innovation regarding electric vehicles.
Bloomberg Cities reported on some of the steps that several of these communities are taking in regards to EV-readiness. Twenty five cities have received support from the Bloomberg Philanthropies' network while participating in this challenge.
St. Paul, Minnesota, and Boston, Massachusetts, have both launched city-wide EV car-sharing programs.
St. Louis, Missouri is working on a program that allows social services agencies to share EVs for delivering meals and taking senior citizens to medical appointments.
Cities that include Boston, St. Louis, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, are added EV options to municipal fleets. Boston has even added an electric-assist cargo tricycle option. Twenty two cities in the American Cities Climate Challenge have purchased over 1,300 electric vehicles.
Additionally, some cities have begun electrifying public transit. Honolulu, Hawaii has 17 fully electric buses on its service routes and plans to transition to a 100 percent electric bus fleet by 2035.
Charlotte, North Carolina, is piloting a program that allows the city to test out 18 electric buses and charging infrastructure from multiple manufacturers in order to see what works best for its community.
Orlando, Florida, now requires that all new buildings and large-scale remodel projects include EV charging considerations.
This "EV Ready" code requires 20 percent of hotel, multi-family, and parking structure spaces to be EV compatible. Additionally, 10 percent of non-residential parking spaces need to also follow this format.
The cities of Boston, Charlotte, St. Louis, Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are taking similar steps in this direction as well.
