There’s a push to get car buyers excited about electric vehicles. Here in Ohio, we know there is a change afoot. Nearly 15,000 electric vehicles are registered there.
Among the concerns associated with the move to electric gas-powered vehicles is “range anxiety,” as the infrastructure for refueling electric vehicles has not matched the proliferation of gas stations. But Ohio is in a position to request up to $140.1 million in funding to help change that.
As Axios reported, Ohio already has 1,850 miles of “standby and ready” EV corridors.
Among the “free” spots are some on the sites of the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
“We are seeing a transition to electric vehicles taking place in the market. Legacy companies are turning to new ways of doing business and startups are entering the industry,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks. “By installing these electric vehicle chargers at facilities across the state, Ohio will continue to lead the way in the changing transportation landscape. …”
So, seeing an opportunity to get ahead of the private sector, the government is using the idea of range anxiety to start building what it calls “free” charging stations. Except, of course, in the case of the last four sites owned by the State of Ohio, they are paid for by the Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency‘s ODOT.
According to Axios, the Biden administration’s goal is a nationwide network of 500,000 such public charging stations by 2030. That is, indeed, quite a shift in the transportation landscape.
Unless the bureaucracy errs on the side of caution, it won’t be long before half a million taxpayer-funded ‘free’ charging stations get in the way of the private sector. It’s not a good plan.
