Two electric vehicle (EV) charging initiatives may help remove infrastructure barriers for rideshare operators, taxi drivers and fleet owners to transition to zero-emission vehicles.
Launched by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), the initiatives include the Vehicle-for-Hire (VFH) Charging Program and the Medium- and Heavy-Duty (MHD) Mobile Charging Program.
Calstart, leading the consultant teams for the programs, said the programs address critical gaps in EV charging accessibility. Calstart is a non-profit that works with member organizations to help develop clean transportation. The VFH charging program aims to address critical gaps in EV charging accessibility by expanding fast-charging sites for high-mileage rideshare and taxi drivers and deploying mobile-charging solutions for medium and heavy-duty fleets.
“By expanding fast-charging options for high-mileage drivers and deploying mobile charging for medium- and heavy-duty fleets, we are making EV adoption more practical, cost-effective, and accessible,” said Rachel Ackerman, the senior program director of clean transportation at Mass CEC. “These initiatives are an important step toward reducing emissions and advancing clean transportation in Massachusetts.”
MHD mobile charging program
The MHD mobile charging program provides semi-permanent, off-grid, and grid-flexible charging solutions to help fleet owners electrify without the need for immediate large-scale investments in infrastructure.
The program’s features include:
- Mobile charging stations that can support fleets in different locations as needed.
- Financial support for selected fleets to obtain MHD EVs with up to $50,000 per vehicle for four vehicles (in addition to other state funding).
- Focus on fleets in Environmental Justice Communities and Gateway Cities.
- Priority for fleets owned or operated by Minority and/or Women Owned Business Enterprises.
“Traditional charging infrastructure might not be available when or where fleets need it most, but that doesn’t have to slow them down,” Jordan Stutt, the senior director of Calstart’s Northeast region, said.
The program’s partners include: Better Together Brain Trust, KB-Mac and Industrial Economics.
VFH charging program
The VFH charging program targets rideshare and taxi drivers, who often do not have access to home vehicle charging, transition to EVs, Calstart said. According to Calstart, these “high-mileage drivers play a significant role in urban emissions, making their electrification a high-impact strategy for reducing greenhouse gases and improving air quality.”
The program’s features include:
- Technical and financial assistance to municipalities and other site owners to install direct current fast chargers and Level 2 chargers at up to 10 sites.
- Focus on locations with high percentages of environmental justice communities to promote equitable access to charging infrastructure.
- Guide to assist future site hosts in assessing the viability of charging station installations for VFH drivers.
Jon Gordon, Calstart’s deputy director of light-duty vehicles, said the VFH Charging Program provides rideshare and taxi drivers in Massachusetts access to “convenient, high-speed charging hubs where they need it most,” he said. “From EV purchase rebates through the Ride Clean Mass Program to fast, reliable charging through the VFH Charging Program, MassCEC is making it easier than ever for high-mileage drivers to go electric, reduce pollution, and drive toward a cleaner transportation future.”
The program’s partners include: Better Together Brain Trust, Center for Sustainable Energy and Green Energy Consumers Alliance.
Massachusetts charges ahead in EV adoption
While the Bay State is already one of the top states in the country for EVs per capita, ISO-NE estimates it will have more than 1.5 million EVs registered within a decade.
Massachusetts’ strong EV adoption is attributed to the numerous policies enacted in the state as well as build out of the charging structure needed to support those EVs. A report by Clean Energy NH notes that over half of New England’s EV chargers are in Massachusetts.
Additional information on the application process will be posted on the VFH Charging and MHD Mobile Charging websites later this month.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.