Shared electric vehicles, charging stations on way to low-income communities in the Bay Area

Car-sharing companies like Zipcar, Maven, Getaround and Gig have peppered Bay Area communities with on-demand vehicles for short-term rentals, but many of those companies — and their vehicles — are in still in short supply in low-income neighborhoods.

That’s what makes a recent grant from the California Energy Commission unique. The state agency awarded Los Angeles-based Envoy Technologies $1.5 million to install charging stations and shared electric vehicles in Bay Area and Sacramento communities most burdened by air pollution, which also tend to be neighborhoods with high concentrations of low-income residents.

By ERIN BALDASSARI | [email protected]

Shared electric vehicles, charging stations on way to low-income communities in the Bay Area

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"As early as 2021, just over three years from now, traveling by a shared vehicle will be four to 10 times cheaper than buying a new car. Even if your vehicle is paid off, it will be two to four times cheaper to summon a shared vehicle."

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