Installations of the Month (November 2021): LADOT Lots 628 & 639

November 12th, 2021

Los Angeles continues to be the epicenter for America’s green transportation “EV-olution,” and EVCS continues to lead the charge there, having installed over half the city’s publicly accessible non-Tesla charging stations for two years running. According to industry group Veloz, nearly one in 10 new vehicle sales in California are plug-in vehicles – which accounts for 45% of all plug-in vehicle sales nationwide – and that trend is only growing. In our research, many Angelenos cite the increased prevalence of DCFCs as a key reason why owning an EV has become practical, reducing their range anxiety and offering lightning-fast charging options while they shop, eat and play. This further reinforces the idea that greater access to modern charging infrastructure leads to more EVs on the road, especially in underserved areas that are sorely in need of outside economic investment to spur growth.

With that, we’re proud to announce that we have recently completed two more installations for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). The first is lot 628, located at 2418 Daly Street in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood just off the 5 Freeway near Pasadena Ave. The chargers are smack dab in the middle of a bustling metropolitan zone filled with everything from nail salons and bike shops to Latin restaurants and dollar stores. The Lincoln Heights Branch Library and Rec Center are each just a five-minute walk away. The area’s young urban population is perfectly poised to help drive EV adoption into the future, which was key to the lot’s selection as an installation site. You can find it here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/2418+Daly+St,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90031/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80c2c67d6faefea1:0x84e204c5120238fd?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN08O9hpT0AhWRJjQIHbcDDksQ8gF6BAgOEAE

The second site is lot 639, located at 116 South Ave. 56 in Highland Park just off the 110 Freeway. The neighborhood is known for trendy eateries like Rosty Peruvian restaurant and the Greyhound Bar & Grill; hip shops like Sunbeam Vintage and Gimme Gimme Records; and the famed Highland Park Bowl with its live music, craft cocktails and antique bowling lanes. Looking for a little peace and solitude? The Ernest E. Debs recreation area, replete with wide open green spaces and family-friendly picnic areas, is just a half mile away. Highland Park boasts a growing population of influential Millennials and Gen Zers that are crucial to mainstreaming EVs into the culture, making the choice of a charging site there a no-brainer. See it here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/115+S+Ave+56,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90042/@34.1084388,-118.1935577,18z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x80c2c4108834909f:0x1b79bcb143ff1e8a!2s115+S+Ave+56,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90042!3b1!8m2!3d34.1086175!4d-118.1932735!3m4!1s0x80c2c4108834909f:0x1b79bcb143ff1e8a!8m2!3d34.1086175!4d-118.1932735

At each site, we installed four of our signature Slim Line DCFCs, which feature 50kW power ratings, combo CHAdeMO and CCS1 connectors with retractable cords, up to 480 VAC three-phase input power, a top-end efficiency rating of over 90%, and an advanced OCPP network-enabled operating and payment system. Bottom line, there’s a simple reason why LADOT chose us as their trusted partner to expand EV access throughout the city: our egalitarian approach to infrastructure installation means the same great customer service, hardware and software technology regardless of the neighborhood. In other words, shoppers in Lincoln Heights get access to the same quality chargers as those in Beverly Hills.

Moreover, the increase in EV infrastructure and other climate-related investments across underserved LA neighborhoods such as these seems to have a multiplying effect on the local economies. According to the California Climate Investments website, a state-run cap-and-trade program, “Communities where investments occur are realizing a wide range of benefits, including: increased affordable housing opportunities; improved mobility options through transit, walking, and biking; cleaner air through zero-emission vehicles; job creation, energy and water savings; and greener, more vibrant communities.” The chargers we put in the ground at lots 628 and 639 serve to further advance all of these goals, a legacy EVCS is proud to be a part of.

The lots themselves are owned, controlled and maintained by LADOT. More about their parking facilities and green initiatives can be found on their website here:

https://ladot.lacity.org/projects/parking-la

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Installation of the Month (February 2021): Hollywood & Highland

In the movie Spider-man, Uncle Ben tells Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The phrase, which came to be known as the “Peter Parker Principle,” is just as true today as it was 20 years ago when the movie first premiered. And just as Peter took seriously his newfound powers, we take seriously our responsibility to facilitate broader access to vehicle electrification options – quite literally the “great power” here is the electricity that keeps EVs moving. We also understand the power of movies and television to convey the importance of electric mobility, be it through information, entertainment or influence marketing. As such, Hollywood has become a tremendous partner in advancing the EVCS mission.

Installation of the Month (January 2021): Barlow Respiratory Hospital

While 2021 brings hope and promise for greater widespread adoption of electric mobility, a quick glance at our portfolio reminds us of all the headway we’ve already made toward that end. Last year, we seized on positive customer sentiment and abundant fiscal opportunities in the green energy space, allowing us to become one of the top installers of EV charging infrastructure in the State of California (with 500+ installations completed and counting). As such, we thought it might be worthwhile to share some of these installations with you – a new success story each month – so that you can see firsthand the favorable strides we’re making toward a carbon-neutral future.

2020: A Year in Review

Two thousand twenty has been a year of undeniable adversity, but also one of remarkable achievement. A year of firsts and hopefully a few lasts. A time of toil and tribulation, but also of triumph. For genuine success is partly defined by our ability to hurdle those implacable obstacles that make the result so noteworthy in the first place. Now, as the EVCS team looks back on this unusual year, we take stock of our unique achievements that made 2020 one for the books.

Electrification Progress in the Age of COVID

It’s pretty clear that vaccine or no, COVID will be here for a while, and with it the new normal of face masks, social distancing, telecommuting and (consequently) less road travel. While some might view this with trepidation, we see it as an opportunity. Since the earliest weeks of the pandemic, major metro areas like Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago – those with large reductions in automobile traffic – immediately began seeing improvements in air quality, according to articles in the New York Times and Washington Post. More recent, an NPR story noted ozone pollution has decreased as much as 15% in many of these places. It seems an unintended consequence of the lockdown has been to accelerate the transition to responsible mobility by demonstrating its positive effects on the environment.

Commentary on Geotab’s 2020 EV Fleet Trends Article – Part II

Two weeks ago, we published part one of our commentary on Geotab’s in-depth article, “Electric Vehicle Trends 2020: Top 6 Factors Impacting Fleet Electrification” (https://www.geotab.com/white-paper/electric-vehicle-trends/). Again, the idea was to assess whether each of the trends were evolving as Geotab predicted and, if so, how EVCS was responding to them in the marketplace. Below are the final three trends referenced and our thoughts on each.