EVs for all: How car shares are making electric vehicles accessible

Edwin Lindo used to see new electric vehicle chargers as a sign he was about to be priced out of his neighborhood. "Communities who have been historically gentrified, historically marginalized," he says, "we don't typically get opportunities to access beneficial technologies." 

Two EV chargers are now in front of Estelita's Library, the Seattle community library and bookstore Lindo cofounded. One can be used by anyone, and the other is reserved for a rentable wheelchair-accessible EV owned by the electric car-share cooperative ZEV that costs $8 per hour to use.

The ZEV EV is used by locals for church, hospital visits, and field trips. Sometimes, Lindo drives the car around and gives a ride to someone carrying too many groceries. 

ZEV (which stands for "zero emissions vehicle") operates 11 vehicles around Washington State. It's part of a growing movement of community-first EV car shares. The EPA reports that transportation is the third-largest source of CO2 emissions in the country. Passenger cars and light-duty trucks contribute 57% of these emissions. EVs could be a key driver of electrification—and car shares can help make EVs more accessible and reduce car ownership—Reasons to Be Cheerful reports. 

Tax credits and low maintenance costs make EVs cheaper than gas cars long-term, but the upfront cost is still a barrier, says Lindo: "It's hard to see long-term savings when you are constantly thinking, 'How do I survive?'"

From 1998 to 2009, nonprofits like San Francisco's City CarShare and PhillyCarshare gained traction in the US. But in the 2010s, corporations acquired many of these nonprofits.

Since 2016, the federal government has funded community-first EV car shares for low-income and underserved communities. In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $13.2 billion for car-sharing and the Build Back Better Act granted $1 billion for electric vehicle infrastructure in underserved communities. At the state level, California has invested the most, with $70 million through the California Air Resources Board from 2015 to 2021. 

Across the U.S., community-first EV car shares range in scale from two to 300 vehicles. Examples include Míocar and BlueLA in California and Evie in Minnesota, among others, which charge between $4 and $16 an hour.

Launched in 2021, ZEV is the only publicly funded car-sharing co-op. A co-op can be more flexible when seeking revenue, founder Greg Dronkert says.

On an individual level, users can be subscribers or members. Subscribers pay a $15 registration fee, a $20 monthly access fee, and $16 per hour each time. Members pay a $500 equity investment and only $8 an hour to use a car. One membership equals one vote and the opportunity to run for the board. For now, most enjoy $5 per hour or $8 per hour introductory rates, depending on the car. A $5 low-income rate is also available. All locations have a grant-funded dedicated charger exclusive to the car share.

To scale, ZEV partners with organizations like Estelita's and the supermarket Town and Country Markets as well as entities like the city of Port Townsend. Through their membership, a community group can buy memberships for their neighbors. Then group members pay $8 an hour, with no other fees.

To collect enough user fees to be self-sustaining, ZEV still has a long way to go: It will need a total of 135 and 145 EVs that are in use 50% of the time.

Affordable car shares increase transportation access and lower living costs. But initiatives scale slowly and have to match their growth to people's excitement.  

Míocar founder Gloria Huerta says that for their 2019 launch, 100 people signed up overnight for their single vehicle. Now, with 45 cars in nine locations in California (expected to double next year), Míocar is one of the most sustainable car-share nonprofits.

The barrier is low: A $20 membership fee and an orientation grants a few hours of driving credit. Huerta hasn't raised the $4 per hour and $35 a day launching rate. 

Jennifer Flores always felt it was unfair that EVs were unaffordable. "People of low income commute every day to work. Rich people don't have to," she says. "A lot of us cannot afford gas prices." 

Last February, Flores junked her 2001 Honda Civic after she couldn't afford a $1,000 repair. Míocar helps her get groceries—especially bigger items like dog food or sales. 

This past summer, she completed a community health worker certificate at a nearby university. Saturday classes started at 9 a.m., but on weekends, the bus service didn't start until 9:30 a.m. Using Míocar, she got to class on time and without worrying about gas prices. The certificate led to a job planting trees in her community.   

But although the nonprofit has 700 members, only 75 use the cars monthly.

Míocar rewards social media posts and filling out surveys after each drive with driving credit. One member filled out 500 surveys, driving her children to school, doctor's appointments, and getting groceries in the process.

"We don't want to be transactional," Huerta says. "We want to make sure that if someone is taking the time to fill up a survey and also providing feedback, we're incentivizing them."

The nonprofit works with UC Davis to analyze and include the results in its grant proposals. Huerta says they're funded through 2028.

Huerta points to the community's attentiveness as another buy-in sign. "If they see a flat tire in one of the vehicles, they'll call us," she says. "Car share allows the community to feel like they are part of something." 

A car share can't always follow a community's needs. Sometimes, electrical panels are not up to the standards. Installing a charger requires expensive underground digging, says Huerta.

And the nonprofit model isn't a silver bullet. Boston-based Good2GO, a partner of Huerta's, shut down in August due to high costs and funding shortages.

Huerta says Míocar managed to keep cars after funding ran out for specific locations. "At the end of the day," she says, "these vehicles were purchased to stay in the community."

Nighel Cobb and his wife have lived on Bainbridge Island, Washington for a year. He learned about ZEV from walking by one of its cars parked at City Hall, which is near his house. After an accident left them with one car, Cobb, who works from home, considered buying an EV. But with his wife's military relocation likely, he wasn't sure about infrastructure at their next location.

For five months, Cobb had medical appointments and used a car five times a week. Now his usage is more occasional. Having access to the EV network has been especially useful when he takes the ferry to Seattle. With car wait times increasing on ferries, Cobb can board the ferry by foot and easily rent a car on the other side.

Now a subscriber, he is considering a membership upgrade.

Cobb has recommended ZEV to a friend with an older car. "It gives him a lot of trouble and he's really only using it to go to and from job interviews," he says. "It adds an additional stressor to him because he is trying to balance these car payments and these other issues that his car presents."

Both word-of-mouth and outreach events help. Míocar organizes events for each new location added to their system. Last month at Estelita's Library, the ZEV team pitched the service to passersby. As Lindo put it, there are no shortcuts: "This is community work, and it takes time."