LA Green New Deal targets 80 percent EVs, less driving

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in Maven car-sharing fleet, Los Angeles [photo: Dan MacMedan foAs Washington waffles on developing a Green New Deal—or works to torpedo it altogether—LA's environmentalist mayor, Eric Garcetti, signed off on a local Green New Deal for the city on Monday. “Politicians don’t need to look across the aisle to find the answers—they need to look across the country,” he said, in...

LAPD’s unused electric cars gather dust sitting in garage, but why?

Footage from June 2016 LAPD announcement of lease for 100 BMW i3 electric cars [CBS Channel 2, LA]Anyone who remembers the epic, metallic-tasting, technicolor smog in the Los Angeles Basin found into the 1990s understands why air quality matters there. While the worst of the uncontrolled tailpipe emissions have now been greatly reduced, and the air is cleaner, the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is now the major concern. So it sounded like good...

Los Angeles Metro orders 100 electric buses

New Flyer Xcelsior Charge electric busAs part of its bid to go green, America's second-largest bus system has placed an order for up to 100 New Flyer Xcelsior Charge all-electric buses. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has ordered 35 buses and has the option to purchase an additional 65. DON'T MISS: LA Metro uses BYD's electric buses L.A.'s new...

GM’s Maven car-sharing adds Chevy Bolt EV electric cars (in LA)

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car in Maven car-sharing fleet, Los Angeles [photo: Dan MacMedan foWith the 238-mile Chevy Bolt EV electric car now in its third month of sales and rolling out to additional states every month, the industry is focused on its sales numbers. Retail buyers have asked to what degree GM's plans to dedicate a number of the early Bolt EVs to its Maven car-sharing service might affect availability. If yesterday's...

Four large West Coast cities unite to buy 24,000 electric cars

Seattle Center as night falls (photo by Jeffery Hayes)When it comes to policy efforts aimed at promoting electric cars, the focus is usually on private passenger vehicles. But to cut carbon emissions in a meaningful way, policymakers will have to look at other types of vehicles as well. That includes the thousands of cars and light trucks in the municipal fleets of large cities. DON'T MISS: BYD...

BlueLA expands French electric-car sharing service to California

Bollore BlueCars recharging at Paris curb for the Autolib electric-car sharing service, Sep 2016First there was AutoLib, a French electric-car sharing service operated by the Bolloré Group. Then came BlueIndy, the first U.S. franchise of the service, which put the same BlueCars onto the streets of Indianapolis. Now Bolloré is expanding its car-sharing operations to a second U.S. city, one that may be much more in the public...