The three Bay Area mayors, Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Chuck Reed of San Jose and Ron Dellums of Oakland, announced a policy plan to transform the Bay Area into the Electric Vehicle (EV) Capital of the U.S. The three Mayors said that they would work with the region’s cities, counties, regional governmental organizations as well as with private sector partners to plan and implement the region’s economic and environmental future around electric transportation.
The three unveiled the plan in conjunction with the announcement by Better Place, an innovative company that is currently partnering with Israel, Denmark, and Australia to provide sustainable transportation. They present the steps they plan on taking with the countries they are working with. It's a pretty amazing process and clearly was influential in determining the nine-step program that the Bay Area is going to pioneer.
The Mayors’ nine-step program includes:
- Expedited permitting and installation of electric vehicle charging outlets at homes, business, parking lots, and other buildings throughout the Bay Area;
- Incentives for employers to install EV charging systems in their workplace and provide similar incentives to parking facilities and other locations where EV charging stations can be installed;
- Harmonize local regulations and standards across the region that govern EV infrastructure to achieve regulatory consistency for EV companies as well as expanded range for EV consumers;
- Establish common government programs that promote the purchase of EVs;
- Link EV programs and infrastructure to regional transit and air quality programs;
- Establish programs for aggressive pooled-purchase orders for EVs in municipal, state government and private sector fleets and future commitment of purchasing preference for EV vehicles;
- Expedited permitting and approval for facilities that provide extended-range driving capability for EVs in the region through battery exchange locations or fast-charging;
- Identify and secure suitable standard (110V) electric outlets for charging low voltage EVs in every government building in 2009; and
- Identify roll-out plan for placement of 220V EV charging equipment throughout each city including city parking lots and curbside parking.
Go, SF!
