With North Texas falling behind on ozone emissions, grants now available to shift fleets to electric
The North Central Texas Council of Governments said grants are now available to install charging stations. NCTCOG said nine counties are considered ozone nonattainment areas by standards set in 2015.
"In order for regional air quality to improve, we all need to do our part," said NCTCOG Air Quality and Transportation Planner Nick Van Haasen.
Van Haasen said "our part" can include working from home, carpooling, and using mass transit to commute. He urges people to carpool to lunch or bring their lunch with them and consider bicycling or walking for short trips.
He said drivers should also avoid unnecessary trips, drive at a constant speed and limit the time they spend idling.
NCTCOG said, while ozone levels in North Texas are above standards, they have dropped from 101 parts per billion in 2000 to 73 parts per billion earlier this month.
The council started taking applications for grants that would pay for charging stations in March. Grants of up to $1 million are funded with money from the Federal Highway Administration's Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
"We want to fill some infrastructure gaps, in other words, the distance between charging stations," said NCTCOG Principal Air Quality Planner Amy Hodges.
Hodges said a survey showed most private vehicle fleet operators support a shift toward electric and more infrastructure to charge cars.
"We were noticing an increased interest in electrification," she said. "A lot of our fleets have already deployed electric vehicles, and they're interested in deploying more."
Hodges said charging stations could be built at a mix of public and private sector locations like parks, libraries, community centers, stadiums, and other places the public would frequent."
To be eligible, organizations must have adopted the Regional Transportation Council's "Clean Fleet Policy". She said grants could cover the cost of design, purchase, and construction costs but not ongoing maintenance.
More information is available here.
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