Five Reasons Why EVs Will Love L.A.

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Last week, I was fortunate to meet with two of the people driving Los Angeles' transition to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Beth Jines, the Director of Sustainability for the City of Los Angeles, and Sarah Potts, City Director of Los Angeles for the Clinton Climate Initiative, are working together to navigate the complex issues of vehicle electrification and getting support from consumers and the private sector. They discussed how and why L.A. will be a leader in PEV adoption.

Last week, I was fortunate to meet with two of the people driving Los Angeles' transition to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Beth Jines, the Director of Sustainability for the City of Los Angeles, and Sarah Potts, City Director of Los Angeles for the Clinton Climate Initiative, are working together to navigate the complex issues of vehicle electrification and getting support from consumers and the private sector. They discussed how and why L.A. will be a leader in PEV adoption.

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Here are the top reasons why this L.A. marriage will last longer than most:

- Air quality: The City is out of compliance with the federal Clean Air Act and cleaning up transportation is one of the most cost-effective methods of reducing the negative impact of carbon emissions on health.

- Commuting pattern: The majority of L.A.-area drivers (70 percent) have a commute of 30 miles or less, so even battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) have more than enough range to get drivers to and from work on a single charge. Because so much of that time is spent in stop-and-go or stop-and-stay-stopped traffic, the financial savings from using PEVs that shut off when the vehicle would have been idling are maximized. During a typical 8-mile 40-minute commute, PEV drivers would be spending pennies for power instead of dollars on gas.

- Vehicle ownership: According to a survey of Angelinos by the Luskin Center for Innovation at UCLA, 60 percent of residents already have two or more cars, so using a PEV or BEV as a commuting car while having an ICE vehicle for the long trips does not require a huge shift in behavior. The city also has a very high ownership rate of hybrid vehicles and consumers who have experience with vehicle electrification are more likely to move up to a PEV.

Article continues: http://blog.cleantechies.com/2011/06/06/five-reasons-why-evs-will-love-l-a/