Bay Area governments make big electric-vehicle buy

[IDemo]

Source: ABC News

A group of San Francisco Bay Area cities, counties and water agencies has joined forces for what is being billed as one of the largest single government purchases of all-electric vehicles in the country.

The six cities, two counties and two water agencies have united to buy 90 electric vehicles with the help of a $2.8 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional transportation agency, officials with the Bay Area Climate Collaborative said Tuesday.

The vehicles will save more than $500,000 in fuel costs and about 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over five years, Bay Area Climate Collaborative Executive Director Rafael Reyes said.

The collaborative — a public-private initiative of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group that was started by three Bay Area mayors — developed the proposal for funding that was submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/bay-area-governments-make-big-electric-vehicle-buy-24478842

[PatrickforO]

1. This is truly outstanding!

It's a great start.

Did you all know that one of the last laws passed under Nancy Pelosi's leadership (she had a VERY productive house, unlike this lazy Republican one) was the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, which requires federal agencies to let substantial portions of their workforce work from home, or telecommute, at least one day per week?

To illustrate the point that every little bit helps, think about rush hour. Most people want to work a 'normal' shift, and so we have large regimented commutes; the morning commute begins around 7am and ends around 9am, and the evening commute starts around 3:30pm and ends around 6pm. All those people clogging up the roads, spewing exhaust fumes. Like George Thorogood DRINKS alone, they tend to DRIVE alone!

So far over 600,000 federal workers have been determined to be eligible to telecommute? Imagine that many cars off the highways on any given day. Further, it is estimated that around 40% of the US population could conceivably telecommute at least once per week. If this happened:

If the 40% of the U.S. population that holds telework-compatible jobs and wants to work from home did so half of the time:
-The nation would save 280,000,000 barrels (45,000,000 m3) of oil (37% of Gulf oil imports).
-The environment would be saved the equivalent of taking 9 million cars permanently off the road.
-The energy potential from the fuel savings would total more than twice what the U.S. currently produces from all renewable energy sources combined.[63]

As I said, every little bit helps! Think of all those greenhouse gasses that WON'T be going out into the atmosphere.

Kudos to the people around San Fran. This move is visionary, and lots of other local governments around the USA will be watching how they do and moving to emulate them.

[tex-wyo-dem]

2. I just moved to the Bay Area...

And can tell you it's a lot different from Dallas, TX where I moved from: bike lanes and dedicated trails everywhere, trains, streetcars and trollies, and electric vehicles are almost as prevalent as big stupid pickups are in tx...very different culture...love it!

[genwah]

3. Welcome home.

“It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears
is said to be seen in San Francisco.
It must be a delightful city and possess
all the attractions of the next world”