The federal government, aiming for half of all vehicles sold to be zero-emissions by 2030, has allocated $7.5 billion to installing public chargers nationwide over five years, including in the tristate area.
But Brandt Hastings, Volta’s chief commercial officer, says that the region still has fewer public chargers per electric vehicle than the national average — and that the entire country will need massive additional public and private investment to be able to support goals for reducing emissions.
“We have to build the charging network ahead of electric vehicle demand,” he said.
Even for drivers who have convenient home charging, keeping electric cars charged can require lifestyle shifts. Kathy Mulholland, 58, of Asbury Park, N.J., likens identifying charging stations along her route to the flight plans she made as a student pilot. Many use apps on their phones.
Some adjust their driving to extend battery life, and avoid high speeds or quick acceleration — or even the car’s ambient heat, which can sap a battery. They look for other ways to keep warm. “I learned to drive with heated seats and a heated steering wheel, but no heat,” said Joe Marganski, 67, of Guilford, Conn.
In the city, charging is more challenging, since many people live in apartments, without a dedicated parking spot. Municipal officials should find creative ways to make chargers convenient for apartment residents, said Alexia Melendez Martineau, the policy manager at Plug In America, a nonprofit organization advocating for an equitable conversion to electric vehicles. Policymakers should also think about how to make the cars accessible to lower-income people who might struggle to pay high upfront costs, she added.
The Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative requires 40 percent of the federal funds for public chargers to be deployed in underserved communities.
Officials are also thinking about equitably distributing the environmental benefits of the conversion. Their concern is not only that cars and trucks produce about one-fifth of the country’s greenhouse gases — but also that neighborhoods with high truck traffic carry higher levels of air pollution, along with higher rates of hospital admissions for asthma and heart and respiratory disease.
Robin Shulman Agüeros
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