EVs and NC
If you have not driven an electric vehicle, you will hopefully have an opportunity to do so at some point in the near future.
I have written about EVs previously. As of this month, our family now has a couple of comparatively lower-cost, leased electric vehicles. Having driven EVs on occasion for about 2 years now, I can state that the acceleration is wonderful, the efficiency is great, and the lack of required maintenance is terrific. The cost of these vehicles has been competitive with non-electric, particularly when incorporating operational costs.
A question that frequently comes up for those considering electric vehicles for the first time is “range anxiety”, and I believe this is a legitimate, although decreasing concern. My sense is that the technology is progressing rapidly enough that the issue will eventually resolve itself due to improved battery range. Even today, access to various charging stations has improved dramatically over the past few years.
For most day-to-day travel, let’s say under 200 miles, there is typically no issue at all for a fully electric vehicle, as charging an EV can actually be easier than with a gasoline powered car. The reason is that you can charge it up at home in the evening using a “level 2” charger, and by the morning you have a fully-charged electric vehicle. The process is very analogous to charging your mobile phone on your nightstand before you go to bed, and you don’t have to find a gas station the next day. We have a level 2 charger at home, which is much faster than just using a power cord to charge an EV, although slower than say a Tesla Supercharger would be for Tesla vehicles. Still, the level 2 charger we use, facilitated by a Duke Energy charger prep credit program, has been plenty fast to keep things moving.
North Carolina has the most registered electric vehicles per capita in the southeast, and second in the U.S. behind New Hampshire. We expect the numbers of electric vehicles in our state to steadily increase over time, even without the federal subsidy.
Of course, electric vehicles do not pay gas taxes, and fuel efficient vehicles use less of them, so the impact on transportation funding is an issue. RTA is exploring alternative revenue frameworks given the inability of the owners of registered electric vehicles to pay gas taxes. We will have an update for our members on our statewide funding research initiative with RTI International in September.
Joe
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA executive director
