Buyers in seven Northeast states urged to consider electric cars

2013 Nissan Leaf electric car tested as taxi in New York City, April 2013When companies want to sell more of something, they market it. Now, at long last, electric cars are about to get the same treatment. Following an announcement at the New York International Auto Show last week, 16 major automakers are joining forces with seven states to promote sales of electric vehicles to consumers. The Alliance for Automobile...

Buyers in seven Northeast states urged to consider electric cars

2013 Nissan Leaf electric car tested as taxi in New York City, April 2013When companies want to sell more of something, they market it. Now, at long last, electric cars are about to get the same treatment. Following an announcement at the New York International Auto Show last week, 16 major automakers are joining forces with seven states to promote sales of electric vehicles to consumers. The Alliance for Automobile...

New York, New Jersey get serious about electric cars

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car at EVgo fast-charging station, Newport Centre, Jersey City, NJWhile parts of the federal government focus on sustaining fossil-fuel energy, numerous states are enacting new policies and programs to boost electric cars. California tends to steal most headlines about electric vehicles and climate-change policy, but two other U.S. states have started to take electric cars more seriously. New York and New Jersey...

NJ dedicates all gas tax revenue to transportation infrastructure

BMW ActiveE electric car in front of old gas pumps, Belvidere, NJ   [photo: Tom Moloughney]Critics of electric cars often use the argument that, because electric-car drivers don't pay gas taxes, they don't contribute their fair share of road-maintenance costs. But state gas-tax revenue don't necessarily go toward funding infrastructure, or at least not all of it. In last Tuesday's election, voters in one state ensured that their...

NJ electric-car advocacy group launches as gas tax soars

Plug-in electric cars at PSE+G facility in Newark, New JerseyNew Jersey was always the place for residents of neighboring states—Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania—to buy cheap gasoline. That era ended two days ago, when a political deal struck between its legislature and the governor raised the state gas tax by a whopping 23 cents a gallon. Today, a new coalition launched with the aim of...

Uber logs another mass-transit win, this time in New Jersey

Uber appSupporters of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft believe they can do more than simply serve as alternatives to private car ownership. Both companies and policymakers are experimenting with ways to use ride-sharing to supplement, even replace, dedicated mass-transit infrastructure. The latest example comes from New Jersey, where officials in...