As part of a new electric car-sharing program launched Thursday by the City of Sacramento and partners Electrify America and Envoy, residents of the Whispering Pines apartment complex in Meadowview now can rent zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on a per-minute, per-hour or daily basis.
Whispering Pines is one of six sites across Sacramento featuring the program, which is designed to increase environmentally-friendly mobility in the city.
“We are demonstrating here today that the green revolution is not just for some people, but it’s for everyone,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg at a launch event held Thursday at Whispering Pines.
Envoy is the first of two electric-car-share initiatives that Electrify America is supporting in Sacramento. Rates start at $.15 a minute or $9 an hour, and vehicles will be available exclusively to the residents of the property.
Currently, 12 Volkswagen e-Golfs are available at the six properties. By early 2019, Envoy will offer 142 Volkswagen e-Golf electric cars at 71 locations. A second car-sharing company, Gig, plans to arrive in Sacramento in 2019 with 260 electric vehicles that can be picked up by customers and dropped off anywhere within a 13-mile home zone.
“Programs like these introduce electric vehicles to our community where you don’t see a lot of electric vehicles,” said District 8 Councilmember Larry Carr at the event.
The car-share launch is part of the overall “Sac-to-Zero” initiative, which aims to accelerate the use of shared “clean-mobility” transportation.
“This car-share option helps address a number of issues, especially air quality,” said District 6 Councilmember Eric Guerra, who also is a board member of the Sacramento Air Quality Management District.
The City has been working to increase access to zero-emissions vehicles, expand ZEV technology use and prepare Sacramento for future electric vehicle adoption.
Over a 10-year period ending in 2027, Electrify America is investing $800 million in California to install electric vehicle-charging infrastructure and ZEV education and access programs in the U.S.
Electrify America is funding electric vehicle charging infrastructure, zero emissions car sharing, and electric shuttle and bus programs.