THE VEHICLES
Mayors from 127 cities commit
to purchase over 2,100 EVs by
2020
52
Virginia governor pledges over
$12 million for electric buses
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has pledged more
than $12 million towards the deployment of electric
buses in the cities of Alexandria, Blacksburg, and Hamp-
ton Roads. The funding will cover a total of 17 electric
buses and charging stations, eliminating the need for an
estimated two million gallons of diesel fuel and offsetting
612,000 tons of carbon emissions and 129,000 pounds
of nitrogen oxide emissions, according to the Governor’s
office.
The funding amount includes nearly $9 million from
the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, and
$3.5 million from a statewide transit capital program.
The funds will be allocated approximately as follows:
- $5.1 million to Alexandria (DASH) for six bat-
tery-electric transit buses and fast chargers - $3.3 million to Blacksburg Transit for five buses and
chargers - $3.9 million to Hampton Roads Transit for six buses
and chargers
In August, Virginia awarded about $14 million to
EVgo to develop a statewide public EV charging net-
work.
“Electric buses are a key component of Virginia’s
strategy to address the climate crisis, reduce air pollution
in our communities, and drive innovation across the
Commonwealth,” said Governor Northam.
“This investment in high-efficiency vehicles raises the
profile of transit as a smart, environmentally sustainable
travel choice, and helps power a 21st-century multimod-
al transportation system that is the platform for Virgin-
ia’s economy,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation
Shannon Valentine.
Mayors from 127 cities
joined the Climate
Mayors EV Purchasing
Collaborative during
the recent Climate
Mayors Summit in Ho-
nolulu, and committed
to purchasing more
than 2,100 EVs by- To assist in the transition towards electric school
buses, the Collaborative announced it will make a com-
petitive bid on electric school buses by the end of 2019,
enabling public school systems with smaller budgets to
procure e-buses at competitive prices.
The Collaborative, which was launched in 2018, is a
partnership between Climate Mayors, the Electrification
Coalition, and Sourcewell. Its mission is to give cities
access to competitively-priced EVs and charging infra-
structure, as well as reduced-cost leasing options through
state and federal tax credits.
“The clean transportation revolution is not a distant
vision for the far-off future,” said current Los Angeles
Mayor and Climate Mayors Co-Chair Eric Garcetti.
“It’s a reality hitting the streets of Los Angeles and cities
around the world. By pooling our purchasing power,
Climate Mayors are sending a powerful message to the
global car market: if you build electric vehicles, we will
buy them.”
“Cities across the country are demonstrating critical
leadership by committing to transition their fleets to
electrification, reducing our dependence on oil, while
improving our nation’s health, and our economic and
national security,” said Electrification Coalition VP Ben
Prochazka. “We hope other mayors around the country
will see this as a call to action and plug their fleets into
the Climate Mayors EV Purchasing Collaborative.”