Explanation
1. BACKGROUND
In 2016, the City of Columbus applied for and won the Smart City Challenge, resulting in the award of a $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and a $10 million grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation (Vulcan) to assist in implementation of the City’s proposal to demonstrate how advanced data and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies and applications can be used to reduce congestion, keep travelers safe, protect the environment, respond to climate change, connect underserved communities, and support economic vitality.
The Smart Columbus Electrification Plan prioritizes five key objectives-grid decarbonization; electric vehicle (EV) fleet adoption; transit, autonomous, and multi-modal systems in the City of Columbus; electric vehicle consumer adoption; and EV charging infrastructure-to change the long-term trajectory of carbon emissions in the seven-county region encompassing Franklin, Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Pickaway, Madison, and Union counties.
The aim of the Smart Columbus Public Fleet Initiative is to work with public and academic entities to place in operation 300 electric vehicles within their fleets by the end of the grant period. The Smart Columbus Program Management Office (PMO) Fleet Adoption Working Group has been working with public fleet managers to analyze EV options and prepare vehicle acquisition and charging infrastructure plans. The City of Columbus Fleet Services Division also has assumed a leadership role among other government fleets in the region by arranging training and developing tools to increase utilization.
To date, the PMO has secured commitments from the cities of Columbus, Dublin, Hilliard, Grove City, Whitehall, and Worthington, Franklin County, the Ohio State University, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission to purchase a total of up to 285 electric vehicles. The PMO will continue to work ...
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