by Isabella O’Malley, Yahoo! Finance Highlights Ride-hailing company, Lyft, has announced that all of their service vehicles will be electric within ten years On Lyft’s website, the company cites the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to rebuild their business and focus on sustainability: Rather than hunker down and ride out COVID-19, we chose to stand … Read more
by David Ferris, E&E News Highlights Tesla, General Motors, and Contemporary Amperex Technology are attempting to make car batteries that can last one million miles The batteries have been tested in labs, but have not been manufactured and tested Electric vehicles could hypothetically last forever with the advent of this ultra-long range battery However, many … Read more
by Matthew Fleischer, The Los Angeles Times Highlights The construction of freeways was a direct result of Los Angeles’s racist past, creating a city segregated on the basis of race, causing the destruction of black neighborhoods and the elimination of beneficial transportation The Red Car transit system provided access to residents throughout the city, creating … Read more
by Hiroko Tabuchi, The New York Times Highlights The California Air Resource Board unanimously voted in a new rule requiring more than half of all trucks sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035 This rule is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and establish California as an EV manufacturing hub … Read more
by Ari Natter, World Oil Highlights The Select Committee on the Climate Crisis convened by Pelosi and chaired by Representative Kathy Castor of Florida, released a 500-page plan that seeks to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, calls for achieving 100% clean vehicles by 2035, and demands an extension of a tax credit that’s successfully boosted … Read more
by Dimitra Kessenides, Bloomberg Businessweek Highlights The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increased interest in electric bicycles, or e-bikes for short, as a sustainable mode of transportation and exercise Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., based in Morgan Hill, California, built their first e-bike in 2013. They now have seven e-bike models and their sales have … Read more
by Carolyn Said, The San Francisco Chronicle Highlights Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will unveil SB288, the Sustainable Transportation COVID-19 Recovery Act, which would streamline alternative transportation infrastructure projects The proposed bill would fast track sustainable transportation projects that would typically take months or years for approval due to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) … Read more
By Michael J. Coren & Dan Kopf Highlights Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have been riding bicycles as their form of transportation and for recreation. According to market research firm NPD, sales of recreational bikes rose 121% to nearly 250,000 in March, while stationary exercise bikes and indoor stands nearly tripled to about 200,000 units. Rails-to-Trails … Read more
By Jim Stinson, Utility Dive Highlights Many EV truck manufacturers have preorders to help replace traditional fleets. Nikola has 14,000 trucks on preorder, with the first delivery of battery-electric trucks to European fleets expected in 2021 Though the price of oil has dropped significantly over the past few months, fleets are still committed to transitioning … Read more
Take action today: Ask your electeds to commit to a phase-out of dirty, gas-powered vehicles and invest in sustainable mobility as part of COVID-19 stimulus funding. On March 30th, The Climate Center and our partners sent a letter to the California Air Resources Board asking them to hold firm on clean air regulations during this pandemic. The … Read more
