International Plug-In Day! Bring out your Plugs!

Generous readers, I'm happy to announce it's that time of year again!  Time to show your friends, neighbors and general passers by our shared love for Electric Vehicles.  Yes, it's International Plug-In Day, the day we all go out and display our love for cars powered by the ubiquitous plug.

This year, Plug-In Day is a two day event, and here in the greater Washington, D.C. area, we're taking it to the neighborhoods!  So mark your calendars, 28 September 2013!

View Plug In Day 2013 in a larger map

Because we have 2 days of events, we've decided to have regional events on Saturday and one huge event in downtown DC on Sunday.  We hope everyone can show their support at their local Saturday event and then everyone come down to Washington for the regional event Sunday on the steps of the U.S. Capital.

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: Herndon, VA

Hello from your Herndon Event team captain!  As the organizer of this event, I hope it to be the biggest of all the regional events.  This is the only gathering scheduled for Northern Virginia.  As such, I hope folks from Arlington, Alexandria, Loudoun, Prince William, Manassas and even Stafford Counties and Cities can make it out to western Fairfax to join us in sharing our love for EVs.  Come and commiserate over our failed attempt for equal taxation regardless of propultion and the $64 tax we now have to pay for as both hybrid and electric vehicle owners.  We're planning to have LEAFs, Volts and Tesla Model S a plenty to show, as well as all kinds of electric vehicles.  Learn about Dominion Virginia Power's Time-of-Use Rate Schedules and the Green Option for energy credits.  And teach folks about the around 50% Personal Property Tax discount for Electric Vehicles in Arlington, Prince William and Loudoun Counties.  (Sorry fellow Farfaxians, we still have to pay full price for our tax in our unprogressive county.)

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: Waldorf, MD

Overall Waldorf event organizer and my friend Mark Czajka from MDVolt (the current source for LEAF Meetup events).  Ironcially, Mark doesn't own a Volt—he has a Ford Fusion Energi—but is an amazing event organizer and without him this year's Plug In Day wouldn't be nearly as amazing as it's turning out to be.  The MOMs in Waldorf is in a beautiful, new building and will be an amazing place to discuss all the exciting things going on for EVs in Southern Maryland.  This is a must-see event for anyone in the area, I guarantee.

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: College Park, MD

The College Park event in suburban Maryland, just on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., is at one of my favourite MOM's Organic Markets, being about half-way between work and the normal EVA/DC meeting in Silver Spring, MD.  Word of warning that the EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment) stations at this location, two out-of-the-way units around the left side of the building, are often either broken or occupied by a completely occupied by an often full electric vehicle.  However, anyone needing a charge just contact my friend and Team Captain Lanny Hartmann who will help you find a unit that's available and working as well as work to make sure these units are function come Plug-In Day and beyond.

Saturday, 28 September 2013, 10:00–14:00: Timonium, MD and Baltimore

The Timonium event is our closest planned event in the greater Baltimore Suburbs.  Located in Central Maryland, the event is just north of the Baltimore Beltway and just off of I85.  As such, I've never personally been there since getting my LEAF, which was before MOM's in Timonium opened.  However, my friend Barry Larkin is hosting this event and I've every confidence he's going to do an amazing job so please show your support Baltimore and bring out your EVs!

Sunday, 29 September 2013, 10:00–16:00: Washington, D.C.

For the regional Sunday event, we're extremely fortunate to be getting permission to have our display right in front of the U.S. Capital building, on Third Street SW, in front of the Reflecting Pool and near the US Botanical Gardens.  This is thanks in no small part to the work of Maryland's Senior Senator Barbara Mulkulski (D).  This website would therefore like to express their personal thanks to Senator Mulkulski.  We're working on sixty spots to display our EVs so that visitors to the Capital can see just how affordable, obtainable and ubiquitous Electric Cars have finally become!

Everyone Welcome

At each event, we hope to have opportunities to test drive our electric cars including, in Herndon and Washington, CO2Fre, yours truly's very own Nissan LEAF.  So come one, come all, see how easy it is to plug in your car at the 2013 International Plug-In Day events!  And if you'd like to show off your car, just click on the link at the start of each event to register with the Plug-In Website.  Hope to see you there, and thank you!

Changes for a Better EV Life: Trickling Gasoline

What would you do if every gas station in your area was limited to dispensing gasoline at only half a fluid ounce of fuel per minute?

As ridiculous as that sounds, that's what the average charge time for a Nissan LEAF or Chevy Volt is when compared to a Toyota Prius.  The math is simple when you consider the Prius may be getting 50 mpg or more (I got up to 66.6 mpg when I rented one while CO2 Fre was being repaired a couple weeks ago).  Compare that to about 4.0 ^mi⁄_kWh in the average LEAF or Volt during Winter when our batteries are straining to keep their capacity.  When you consider LEAF and Volt both fuel at about 3.3 kW it's clear that 4.0 ^mi⁄_kWh×3.3 kW is 13.3 miles per hour of charging.

Now, if that same 50 mpg Prius was fueling at a rate of 13.3 miles per hour, or 0.222 miles per minute, with each 50 miles representing one gallon of fuel, then 50 miles would take 50 mi÷0.222 mi per minute or 225 minutes (3¾ hours) to fill just a single gallon!  Since there are 128 fluid ounces in an American Gallon, dividing 225 by 128 gives 1.758 minutes for each ounce or the reciprocal 0.5688 ounces per minute.

And a 30 mpg car wouldn't fuel much faster (the more fuel efficient a car the less gasoline it needs per mile and thus the less time required to fill up enough to go that mile).  If we replace 30 mpg in the above equations we get:

(4.0 ^mi⁄_kWh)×3.3 kW÷(30 mpg) = 0.9387 oz per minute.

And that's with a Level 2 charging station; at a standard, Level 1, US NEMA 5-15 wall outlet, 1.44 kW, the fueling rate diminishes to a mere 0.2458 oz per minute for the Prius or 0.4096 oz per minute for the 30 mpg Internal Combustion Engine vehicle.

Don't wait for your fuel, multitask!

If cars really took that long to fuel, no-one would question the EV Driver paradigm of park-and-fuel.  No-one wants to spend an hour to go just 10 or so miles.  Most cars sit for hours doing nothing, when they could be fueling.  Consider instead of going out of your way to get that ¼oz of fuel for every minute you wait when you'd much rather simply go where you need to go and trickle in your fuel while you're off doing other things, wouldn't you?

Many will read this and say that's why electric cars will never be practical.  But you miss the point.  Now you're imagining a small, fuel pump at every parking spot dribbling in fuel while you're at work, shopping, catching a movie, whatever.  Of course such slow gasoline dispensers don't exist.  But that's not true for an EV.  Remember, there are over 12,000,000 NEMA 5-15 or 5-20 electric plugs throughout the United States—there're only about 30,000 gasoline stations by comparison.  An electric car can trickle in fuel at any one of these outlets so park-and-fuel isn't just a pipe-dream, it's actually quite practical, and very inexpensive.  After all, standard electrical outlets are ubiquitous, not so gasoline pumps.

So really the only question is, why are so many places, like job sites and malls and movie houses so reluctant to allow EVs to charge given we can only fuel at less than a fluid ounce per minute equivalent and at only pennies per hour?  Sadly, this is chiefly due to misinformation about what it cost to charge an EV and miscommunication that we EV drivers are quite willing to pay those costs for the convenience of not idling our EV without multitasking a charge.

Allowing this basic, trickle charging access to an EV could mean hours saved trickling that same electricity, waiting, with nothing to do.  Because that's not the way EVs are supposed to be driven.  Park-and-fuel is all we ask, at whatever price.  Please don't waste our time waiting for the pumping of ½ oz of fuel per minute.  Thanks.

Open Letter: Eliminating the Gasoline Tax for the Commonwealth

McDonnell proposes eliminating Virginia’s gas tax

In a recent Washington Post article, Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell called for an elimination of the 17.5¢ per gallon of fuel Gasoline Tax and an increase in the annual registration fees payed by EVs to $100 per year—I personally just paid a little under $400 in registration fees for CO2 Fre Nissan LEAF up through 2015 with a $150 penalty for driving an EV for three more years.  While he also proposes a $15 increase in the annual registration fees for traditional cars, he plans to make up the rest of the Commonwealth Transportation Fund's decreasing income—due to fuel taxes that are not indexed to inflation—through sales taxes.  In effect, what the Governor is asking is for everyone to pay for Virginia's roads but for EVs and other alternative fuel vehicles to pay more on top of a general sales tax.

Part of the issue is Governor McDonnell trying to stay true to his Norquist pledge to never raise taxes and to only derive revenue-neutral income sources.  However, a fee is technically not a tax and certainly not based on income so I do feel even if the Norquist pledge is ludicrous that it can be satisfied by moving to a gross weight and miles driven fee assessed at ones annual safety inspection as a part of road certification.  This would in effect bring the fuel tax back in line with its original goal: keeping the Virginia Transportation Fund solvent by assessing fees most harshly on the heaviest vehicles and the vehicles that drive the most, which are just the vehicles that cost the Commonwealth the most in terms of maintenance, repair and infrastructure.  I thus submitted this opened letter to the Governor's office last night:

Dear Governor McDonnell,

I couldn't agree more with that goal Mr. Governor, but I think you've not provided a logical way to solve the revenue shortfall caused by more hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles on the Commonwealth's roads.  Adding an increase to sales tax may have the potential of being revenue neutral but it doesn't balance the cost of repair with those who do the most damage.

Basically, from a civil engineering point of view, the main cost to Virginia of cars on our roads is the gross weight of the vehicles and the number of miles driven every year.  As such, the best way to charge an infrastructure tax is simply to base it on those two variables.  And enough of this tying it to registration!  Do not charge alternative fuel vehicles a more expensive registration surcharge when gasoline fuel cars would end up paying no taxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't say that strongly enough because again it's about road damage and that's about number of miles driven and the weight of the car.  It has nothing to do with its means of propulsion!  Don't charge any registration penalty on a vehicle just because it doesn't use gasoline, especially if you're going to forsake any revenue you'd be taxing on that gasoline.  Don't tax the alternative fuel vehicles something if your going to tax the gasoline cars nothing!  That's bad for the commonwealth because the alternative fuel vehicles mean, for instance, with electric cars or methane (natural gas) vehicles, that that energy to drive them could be coming right from here in Virginia, very domestic and local energy and not from refineries in Mississippi for oil from the North Sea and Venezuela or Saudi Arabia.  We need to encourage the money spent on car fuel to stay in Virginia and that's why if anything EVs and CNG vehicle should never pay *more* tax than gasoline vehicles and probably should pay less because they help encourage Virginia businesses and create Virginia jobs!!!

So again, the best approach is to simply apply a scaled fee as a part of a vehicle's annual safety inspection.  At the safety inspection the Commonwealth has all the information it needs to make the correct taxation assessment.  The mileage driven in a year is already logged with the Safety Inspection and the Gross Weight is already defined for any original equipment manufactured vehicle and must be registered for any conversion or custom vehicle.  Even trucks could be taxed this way based their weight!

Please, Mr. Governor, this is how you can balance the Commonwealth's transportation needs.  It means the heaver cars, like EV and SUVs, will indeed pay more, but the Prius will pay its fair share too because it's about weight, not how fuel efficient you are because the roads don't care about fuel efficiency.  They just care about Weight and Miles.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jeffrey C. Jacobs

Open Letter: Electric Cars are not another Hybrid

Dear Senator Favola,

I drive an electric vehicle.  And Senator, I know what I'm about to say has fallen on so many deaf ears and it's not exactly the focus you've made as my duly elected representative, but please hear me out.

An electric car is most assuredly not a hybrid car.  12 years ago, when the Toyota Prius first came to America, this car was seen as expensive, barely tested domestically and were only available in a limited number of major dealer showrooms.  Now, the Prius is Consumer Report's pick for the best-valued car available, millions of miles have been driven in this car and other hybrids alike and you can pretty much walk into any dealer showroom and pick up a hybrid car of your very own.  That was yesterday's revolution and for taking that risk the Commonwealth awarded the privilege of Single-Occupancy access to Virginia's HOV lanes. Apparently for life.  What a wonderful reward!

But now hybrid cars are ubiquitous, and people have no concerns about buying one.  There are millions of hybrids on the roads today.  Do they really need an HOV subsidy on top of all this?

Over ten years of unequivocal, single-occupancy access to Virginia's HOV lanes is quite a benefit for a risk of that nature.

But an electric car is not a hybrid car.  Today, electric cars are expensive, barely tested domestically and are only available in a limited number of major dealer showrooms.  In short, electric cars are today where hybrid cars were 12 years ago.  Indeed, with all the sacrifices of distances practically obtainable and slow-to-arrive infrastructure, electric vehicle drivers are even more handicapped than hybrid vehicle drivers ever were!  And yet as far as the Commonwealth is concerned, an electric car is just another hybrid car.  No, it's worse than that, the electric car is seen as the millionth hybrid car, meaning it can't access I95 or I395 HOV, it can't even access I66 HOV with single-occupancy.  In effect, we're telling the people of places like Springfield and Arlington to please enjoy the reduced emissions of some hybrid vehicles but no, we don't want any zero-emission vehicles coming through your regions on your major highways.  We want you to be polluted with yesterday's technology.

Why does the Commonwealth not give the same benefit enjoyed by thousands of hybrid risk-takers, who've already had their day and then some, to those of us even bigger risk takers driving an electric vehicle?  Is that too much to ask?  Does it even seem fair to deny electric vehicles those rights enjoyed by hybrid cars just because they came later, as newer, better, revolutionary technology always does?

I hope now you can understand why I'm so saddened by the current state of affairs.  But I'm a pragmatist so I would like to ask you to make a motion in the Virginia Senate of the following nature:

1. Enact a law which would issue a series of low-emission, adhesive stickers which are affixed to the rear of a qualified vehicle at a cost to the driver of approximately $25 per year.

2. These stickers would only be authorized for cars which are plug-in electric or battery electric vehicles.  This non-exclusive list includes:

   • 2013 Chevrolet Volt 1.4L
   • 2013 Ford C-Max 2.0L Energi (not the Hybrid)
   • 2013 Ford Focus Electric[1]
   • 2013 Nissan LEAF[1]
   • 2013 Toyota Prius 1.8L plug-in
   • 2013 Tesla Model S[1]
   • 2012 Chevrolet Volt 1.4L
   • 2012 Fisker Karma 2.0L
   • 2012 Ford Focus Electric[1]
   • 2012 Mitsubishi iMiev[1]
   • 2012 Nissan Leaf[1]
   • 2012 Tesla Roadster[1]
   • 2012 Th!nk City[1]
   • 2012 Toyota Prius 1.8L plug-in
   • 2011 Chevrolet Volt 1.4L
   • 2011 Nissan LEAF[1]
   • 2011 Tesla Roadster[1]
   • 2010 Tesla Roadster[1]
   • 2009 Tesla Roadster[1]
   • 2008 Tesla Roadster[1]

[1]	(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13) Battery electric, meaning no tail pipe emissions.

3. On 1 July 2013, amend Virginia Code § 46.2-749.3 to disallow the transfer of Clean Fuel plates to another, newer vehicle if the vehicle being transferred from is one in the following list:

   • 2005 Ford Escape
   • 2005 Honda Civic
   • 2005 Honda Insight
   • 2005 Toyota Prius
   • 2004 Honda Civic
   • 2004 Honda Insight
   • 2004 Toyota Prius
   • 2003 Honda Civic (and earlier)
   • 2003 Honda Insight (and earlier)
   • 2003 Toyota Prius (earlier)

   These drivers will however have the option to purchase one of the cars in item 2 and obtain a low emissions sticker for that vehicle.

4. On 1 July 2013, amend Virginia Code § 46.2-749.3 to cease Clean Fuel plate registrations for the list of cars specified in item 3.

   Thus anyone whose term for re-registration for any of these cars occurring after 1 July 2013 will be required to purchase a new plate without the Clean Fuel logo, and all HOV access will be rescinded for that particular vehicle.

5. On 1 July 2013, allow all cars with the appropriate Low Emission sticker access to all of Virginia's HOV lanes as single-occupancy. Let part of the revenue generated from the adhesive go to the Virginia State Police fund for identifying vehicles qualified for single occupancy in an HOV lane.

6. In subsequent years, phase out the rest of the clean fuel plates starting with the 2006 series, each year until Virginia Code § 46.2-749.3 is expired due to attrition and be replaces with the adhesive sticker system.

7. Negotiate with Annapolis to come to a cooperative agreement whereby any vehicle with Maryland plates and the equivalent electric vehicle sticker is allowed the same rights as a Virginian in Virginia with the low emission sticker and that likewise Low-Emission be respected in Maryland for single-occupancy HOV access.[2]

[2]	As most of Virginia's HOV lanes are near the border with Maryland, this would be of keen benefit to most who would be effected by this law.

8. Annual engineering analyses shall be performed each year to determine if any of Virginia's HOV lanes are operating at a capacity no worse than the normal traffic lanes.  If the result be that the HOV lanes are near capacity, a second generation of stickers shall be issued which remove access to the most used HOV corridors.[3]

[3]	Similar to what happened in 2006.

I believe this progression to be fair as it doesn't take away access for older hybrids right away and provides everyone with a way to be cleaner and allows an out for anyone who already upgraded since at least they're driving a cleaner hybrid rather than the dirtiest of hybrids from 2005 and earlier.  Engineering studies would need to be performed to make sure that the elimination of the older, clean fuel cars would make enough way for the Electric cars but if not perhaps in 1 July 2013 we could just give equivalent access to tier 3 clean fuel until such time that enough of the hybrid cars were retired to leave room for the electric vehicle.

In any case, thank you for reading and I sincerely hope you'll consider this in the upcoming General Assembly term.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey C. Jacobs

The Washington D.C. SOC Meter Built-It Project

The parts list is derived from this MyNissanLEAF post and the tentative sources for each part is as follow:

• 7-Segment Display
  • Yellow Yellow - COM-11443
  • Blue - COM-11442
  • Red - COM-11441
  • Kelly Green - COM-11440 (And to again quoting garygid himself, "not recommended")
• Development Board Mouser Part Number: 909-AVR-CAN
• Project Box
  • All Electronics Cat# MB-132 (Black, cheapest and smallest)
  • All Electronics Cat# 1591-CTBU (Wider and Blue Translucent)
  • All Electronics Cat# 1598-ASGY (Largest enclosure, but narrow!)
• OBD Cable
  • OBD2cables Part number: 142601 (6-foot)
  • OBD2cables Part number: 142602 (9-foot)
  • Type B, OBD2cables PN 144507 (6-foot)
• Toggle Switches
  • On-Off-On SPDT mini toggle switch All Electronics Cat# MTS-5
  • DPDT mini toggle switch All Electronics Cat# MTS-12
• Pushbutton Switches
  • Radio Shack 275-1547 (Two Red, Two Black, so split between 2 people)
  • All Electronics Cat# MPB-1B (Black cap) (One)
  • All Electronics Cat# MPB-1 (Red cap) (One)
• Zener Diode: All Electronics Cat# 1N4733 (Five units split between 5 people)
• All Electronics Cat# DB-9S D-Sub 9-pin connector, Female (RS-232)
• Connector Blocks
  • 1×6 Connector Shell
  • 2×4 Connector Shell
  • Wires with Female Pins

EV Taxicabs failure can be blamed chiefly on one, corrupt politician

In a recent article in the Sun-Gazette, Arlington Board of Supervisors member Libby Garvey was praised for standing up to Supervisor Christopher Zimmerman in a case of clear conflict of interest.  Having closely followed the proceedings which led to the denial of EV Taxicabs bid to win a licence to operate in Arlington by a vote of 2 to 3, I would lay more blame on Mr. Zimmerman than any other county Board member for this fiasco in county political history.  Zimmerman was EV Taxicab's chief opponent with a naïve, prejudged opinion, which derived from a failure to even read a line of supporting documentation, leading to his inane decision to fail to support and argue against Jay Fisette's and Garvey's seconded motion.  The proposal was to support EV Taxicabs bid for merely 40 new cabs, less than 5% of the overall fleet, in exchange for free infrastructure that the citizens of Arlington could all benefit from at liberty.  The equipment EV Taxicabs would have been providing would all have been installed without any taxpayer money being spent, and where Arlington Businesses could have taken advantage by luring in folks like me who drive an Electric Car and would therefore have an excuse to visit the county, as I've written about before.  There's a reason the EVA/DC didn't consider meeting in Arlington in 2013 for any of it's monthly meetings and that's more than anything thanks to Mr. Zimmerman's myopic view toward Arlington's better future and financial benefit.  So shame on Mr. Zimmerman for failing to take advantage of one of the best deals in County history and thank you to Ms. Garvey for standing behind Mr. Fisette in supporting it.

Incoming chair J. Walter Tejeda, please be advised I know you're trying to keep an opened mind on this whole EV thing so please keep learning because I know eventually with enough knowledge you'll be on our side, standing with Jay Fisette and Libby Garvey against the FUD of Mr. Zimmerman and Mary Hynes.  That's why I'd encourage Arlington voters to cease their support for the politician who works against their common interest.  Christopher Zimmerman must go!

Please note the opinions expressed in this article are purely those of the author and do not reflect the positions of any Arlington County Board members, the EVA/DC or EV Taxicabs except where explicitly noted.

Open Letter to the Arlington County Board of Supervisors

Tuesday, 27 November 2012, at around 18:15, the Arlington County Board of Supervisors plans to hear final comments on EV Taxicabs' proposal to add 40 100% electric Nissan LEAFs to the to the fleet of vehicles certified to operate in the County before a final vote planned for later that evening.

#1 Courthouse Plaza
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Room 307
Arlington, VA

This is my open letter to the County:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board,

I address you today as an Electric Car driver with over a year experience with what an area EV driver can expect in terms of mileage and usage in our Northern Virginia climate.  You see, I live in Herndon, Virginia, quite near to Dulles airport—I often hear the planes overhead at my house—and generally drive at least 70 miles a day between home and work with no chance to charge my car in between.  In fact, I come to you today having driven from my home this morning to my job in Southeast D.C. and here thereafter with not a single opportunity to supplement my car's energy.  But I'm not worried about getting home because I drive the same car, a Nissan LEAF, which EV Taxicabs is planning to roll out in its bid to the Board.  If I could make it from my home near Dulles Airport to a point farther than Arlington County and back again on a daily basis, at mostly highway speeds, in rain or shine, under all weather conditions, and still have enough juice in my ride to go another 10 miles, I can guarantee EV Taxicabs can handle any average fare to the airport and still make it back with miles to spare.  And for the record, I've never run out of fuel and I've never heard of any EV driver who has.  We're well prepared for our daily needs and quite knowledgeable about how far we can go and where we can stop along the way if need be.

As for fast charging using the CHAdeMO standard, which stands for stop and have some tea, this use case has already been well studied by EV Taxicabs and as an independent driver who writes extensively on the benefits and limitations of electric vehicles and the Nissan LEAF I wholeheartedly and unabashedly concur with their proposal.  EV Taxicabs has already attested through actual real-world analysis that a typical electric taxi will only need one CHAdeMO or Fast Charge per day.  But that said, it's Nissan itself that has said multiple fast recharges of their LEAF in the same day would be okay as long as the battery temperature stayed below a certain threshold.  This might be a concern for temperatures like they have in Arizona but in Arlington it doesn't get nearly that hot.  And again it's EV Taxicabs', and Nissan, who take all the risk if this be not the case.  Nissan is very interested in seeing the results of EV Taxicabs usage, including multiple fast recharges.  That's the only real test of a battery's longevity.  And Nissan is willing to stand behind this proposal.  And as far as where these fast charge stations will be located, EV Taxicabs has already planned that out too.  Put them where the drivers can stop and have some tea, metaphorically.  But not only will the cab drivers, we ordinary citizens will have access to these stations.  And I urge the Board to consider this indirect consequence: drivers like me who might never stop in the county now have an incentive to do so.  Now, instead of heading straight back to Fairfax County from work, I have an excuse to stop of in Arlington, buy a tea, coffee, sandwich, book and what have you and then be on my way to some other place rather than home.  You free me to travel farther and in return you generate more business in the County.  And it would cost the County absolutely nothing.  The risk is all EV Taxicabs and even if they fail the County gets to keep whatever CHAdeMO stations they leave behind so we can continue to have our tea in the County.

It's clear that somebody has to be first, but this isn't the case for EV Taxis.  EV Taxis have had great success in London, UK, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Toronto, Ontario Canada, Mexico City, Mexico and Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Even New York City is adding EVs to their very tightly controlled Taxi fleet.  And surely if cold New York and hot Sao Paulo can handle an electric taxi, Arlington can.  It's too late to have the pride of being first, but what EV Taxicabs proposal builds on the successes and failures of those other electric taxi corporations.  Their plan is tested and proven and good for the county.  And let's not forget this isn't a permanent assignment.  If they don't perform to EV Taxicabs expectations in terms of business, those allotments will revert back to the county in good time.  It's all EV Taxicabs risk to fail, the county and the county citizens won't have to spend a dime if these cabs don't perform.  That's a risk EV Taxicabs is willing to take, and one they and I feel very strongly about its success!

And let's not forget the potential tourism it could generate to say Arlington County, Virginia is the place to go to get an Electric cab.  If Congresswoman Janice Hahn or Senator Lamar Alexander were here, I'm sure they would agree with me, be they given a choice, that they would rather ride in a Nissan LEAF taxi than any other car.  Believe me, those of us who made the switch always feel a bit out of sorts when we're required to ride in a conventional vehicle.  That's an advantage EV Taxicabs has.  I even spoke with former Loudoun County Supervisor Stephens Miller and he agrees EV cabs would be good for the county.  That's the kind of press that gets guest at our Arlington County hotels and restaurants, and not in Bethesda or Silver Spring or Alexandria.

As for where a Taxi driver can charge his EV overnight, a quick search of the Plugshare database shows no less than 26 public charging stations are currently on-line in Arlington County.  While it's true that it's sometimes hard to get a dedicated spot for refueling ones EV, many of the Vornado properties do have dedicated charging stations available to their residents and what's more most of those 26 stations won't be occupied at night.  For the most part, they're currently used by daily shoppers and commuters who go home in the evening.  And please keep in mind the cars EV Taxicabs will be buying will have what's called 6.6kW charging capability, meaning they can go from empty to full in under 3½ hours, or half a night's sleep.  Although 26 public level-2 charging stations won't be enough to satisfy all 40 cabs EV Taxicabs is requesting, part of their business plan, as I understand it, will be to ensure that each driver is properly trained and has a location to house his or her vehicle while off duty.  This is thanks in large part to their diligent pursuit of contracts with Nissan Motor Corporation to obtain cars at volume pricing.  With that come jobs for local contractors who Nissan and Aerovironment will hire with to install as many level-2 stations as required by EV Taxicabs' drivers.  Nissan and Aerovironment have worked with customers from the beginning and will do everything they can to make sure drivers have a place to charge their vehicle at night.  After all, this is a demonstration project for them as well, and it behooves them as much as EV Taxicabs to get it right.

Finally, I would address that the questionable County Transportation Committee recommendation, which I should point out comes without even a Quorum, proposes no less than to give business to those who already have it.  Is it no wonder EnviroCab was recommended the plurality of cab allotments?  Are we really going to reward the more business to those that already have it?  Are we going to abdicate any possibility of further competition?  I would be willing to wager EnviroCab's tests of an EV were flawed because their drivers weren't properly trained.  This won't be the case with EV Taxicabs.  They plan to have all their drivers undergo a coursework at Nissan HQ for the car they will be driving.  I have no doubt these drivers will be as skilled as any of my EV driving colleagues.  Keep in mind EV Taxis will cost less to run which will allow the passengers savings and that's the type of competition we need to keep prices down for all fares.  I will grant that EnviroCab received a very respectable score of 83 in the 17 November 2012 Board Meeting notes, Appendix B.  Indeed, only one company scored better: EV Taxicabs with a score of 84!

It's for these reasons that I urge the Arlington County Board of Supervisors to approve EV Taxicabs bid for an allotment of up to 40 cabs.  Their proposal is good for the citizens of the county, good for County Business, good for visitors to the region and good for the County Government's bottom line.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey C. Jacobs
Electric Car Driver, Advocate and Writer