NJ and Electric Vehicles- Perfect Together?
KMM presented the Inaugural
Electric Vehicle Award to Franklin Township
Franklin Township becomes an Early Adopter of Electric Vehicles
When asked to choose between a new car and a smart phone, college students choose the smart phone. That says it is time to start thinking in new ways about mobility in our society.
At the recent Central Jersey Transportation Forum held at Princeton University, Vinn White, Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Murphy talked about CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, Electric) Vehicles. NJ is interested in moving forward on these vehicles, as a climate positive effort. The state goal is 330,000 electric vehicles by 2025 vs 20,000 today. To move that goal ahead the state has created “Partnership to Plug In” bringing together efforts of the EDA, DEP, and BPU to look at Mapping, Rebates, Infrastructure, and Permitting.
At the Keep Middlesex Moving Annual Meeting, Rashaad Bajwa, CEO of Domain Computer, talked about Domain’s commitment to electric vehicles in their company fleet. There are not only positive environmental impacts but cost savings as well. Many drivers fear the unknown of a new power source. But, once they have them, electric car drivers find that they don’t waste time at gas stations or pollute as much while driving. They don’t have to do oil changes nor do they have as much wear and tear on their engines. And the cost is comparable to paying 60 cents a gallon! To highlight these benefits, KMM inaugurated an Electric Vehicle Award won this year by Franklin Township.
According to Saffie Kallon, Franklin Special Projects Manager, Franklin created a Drive Electric Earth Day. Franklin had planned on featuring an anticipated 20 cars. Amazingly, Franklin had double that number, as well as, two dealerships featuring luxury electric cars, three vehicles from Franklin’s own electric fleet, and several clean energy vendors!
The Township of Franklin has erected a new ChargePoint Level 2 charging station for electric vehicles (EV) right within the Franklin Township Municipal Complex. A Sustainable Jersey recipient, Franklin focused on being green-friendly so the Township has also added five Chevy Bolt electric vehicles to its overall fleet with plans to add more. The Township partnered with the Environmental Commission to host its first Drive Electric Earth Day (DEED).
This article was reposted from Right Up Einstein’s Alley, June 2019. Einstein’s Alley is a New Jersey economic development organization. You can sign up for the email newsletter here.
