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Zipcar rents EVs in London - could Portland be next?
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Zipcar has EVs and PHEVs in London and San Francisco. Can Portland be far behind?
Zipcar has announced its first Electric Vehicle Pod in London, England. The program includes an all-electric vehicle (EV), the Citroen c1, and a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Toyota Prius. The vehicles stationed at the EV Pod are among the most efficient and technologically advanced on the road today and as with all Zipcars, are available to Zipcar members to rent by the hour.
"Since early in this decade, Zipcar has been integrating alternative vehicles into the fleet -- giving our members the opportunity to push the envelope and evaluate a range of advanced-vehicle technologies," said Scott Griffith, chairman and CEO of Zipcar.
Portland is served by Zipcar, and the Portland fleet includes hybrids, but not PHEV or full EV cars.
While EVs are showing great promise, and increased manufacturing capacity is projected in the coming years, large-scale consumer adoption appears to be limited by two key concerns -- the lack of widespread availability of charging stations and limited battery range. These two issues may curb the allure of EVs to the mainstream consumer audience for some time. However, with an average trip-duration of just under four hours and less than 25 miles, more than 95 percent of Zipcar trips would fall within the range of an EV, meaning EVs are ideally suited for early, large-scale use in Zipcar's car sharing platform.
In recent surveys, more than 85 percent of Zipcar members stated that they would be interested in driving a plug-in vehicle. Zipcar responded with the San Francisco launch of its first PHEV pilot program. Since the February launch, 75 percent of vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) in this vehicle have been powered by electric charge rather than petroleum-based fuel.
So, Portland Zipsters, it's clearly time to make your voice heard! If you show Zipcar that the demand exists for an EV pod in Portland, it seems they're ready to listen.
For more info: Check out the Zipcar website here, and contact them to request an EV pod for Portland here.
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