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In the battle against "range anxiety," AAA has started offering roadside EV charging.
(AAA)
The dream of someday making electric-car charging stations as ubiquitous as gas stations (or at least Les Schwab Tire Centers) has rolled a couple feet closer to reality in the Legislature.
Senate Bill 536 has passed
on a 23-2 vote. The proposal would allow the Oregon Department of
Transportation and other state agencies to easily expand the state network of public
e-vehicle charging stops by contracting with vendors that would build, run and dispense electricity at the stations.
Under the legislation, state agencies could contract with vendors to install charging stations on their property that could be used by both state vehicles and the public.
ODOT officials say easing access to public fast-charging and Level II charging stations would fight so-called "range anxiety" experienced by EV drivers as well make people considering one of the vehicles more confident in their purchase.
In the end, promoting the use of electric vehicles "leads to less air pollution, less reliance on foreign oil, and advancement towards our environmental goals," said state Sen. Jackie Dingfelder in a statement on the bill's passage.
Of course, the 2,000-pound dinosaur in the room is finding a viable replacement for gas tax revenue to build and maintain roads used by electric vehicles.
Oregon currently counts nearly 50 cities with public electric car charging stations, with ODOT wanting to add 21 more stations over the next year.
While cutting out some of the bureaucracy of building EV charging stations, the bill, which is now headed to the House, also ensures the state won't subsidize operations of a private entity and that the program doesn't "substantially exceed costs" to the state agency of making electricity available.
In other traffic news:
- How to approach this next topic delicately?
- Willamette Week has published a map of Portland's hot zones for bike theft that it reports is "surprising."
- It's Distracted Driving Prevention Month. So, Wired has put together a pretty cool slideshow of the history of one of the world's biggest biggest driving diversions:
- Meanwhile,
- March Madness is over. Having bracket withdrawals? Well,
- The Auto blog:
- Respect.
-- Joseph Rose