OWL Services’ Post

🚋🏚️ Here is a cautionary tale, courtesy of the South Lake Union #streetcar in #Seattle: “Since Friday, Seattle has suspended service on the 1.3-mile-long South Lake Union streetcar due to an electrical outage that will take ‘several weeks’ to address.” 🤔Reminds one of the #Atlanta streetcar’s maintenance issues. “Ridership on the South Lake Union Streetcar is relatively anemic, as it carries just shy of 500 weekday rides, as of the latest June figures.” 😮Wait, we thought streetcars magically generated their own ridership? Perhaps we’ve listened to too many BeltLine Rail Now presentations… “The SLU streetcar’s weak ridership is hardly a shock given its short length and more frequent bus service in the corridor.” 🤯What? Cheaper buses can out-compete streetcars? Has anyone told Ryan Gravel about this? “…Mayor Jenny Durkan pulled the plug on the funded and shovel-ready Center City project in 2018, citing concerns about alleged design errors and cost overruns…the latest estimate put the Center City streetcar’s cost at $410 million.” 😏So, cost overruns are a legitimate reason to cancel a streetcar project. Someone alert the board at MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority). The article concludes with speculation that the existing streetcar rails may end up being removed. Well, that’s several hundred million dollars that taxpayers won’t get back. 🤦🏾♂️ Let’s hope #Atlanta leaders pay attention to the Seattle fiasco and stop the Atlanta Beltline streetcar folly before it’s too late.💸 https://lnkd.in/e_cKnQU6

Great article on the impacts of driving and traffic, and why communities should avoid expanding highways! Follow Eagle Valley Transportation Authority for more insights 🚍

The science of understanding the future impacts of highway widening (adding lanes) has been telling us over and over: widening roads by adding lanes DOES NOT ease congestion if measured after about two years. What adding lanes does do: invite more folks into single passenger vehicles. Getting Caltrans to use this science has been terribly difficult. I realize that careers built on building more roads makes it hard to accept that more lanes equals more traffic, and the resulting congestion, but California can and should do better. It is time that California invest as much in mass transit and active transportation that we do in greenhouse gas producing single occupancy vehicles. We shouldn’t accept the “pats on the back” that transportation folks give themselves when the invest a few percent of their funding on alternative transportation projects. We need to turn that funding model upside down: every $1 spent on classic road “improvements” should come with $10 in mass transit and active transportation work.

$5.92 Million for EV Chargers in NC’s Lowest EV Registration Areas! Gov. Roy Cooper has announced that nine cities across North Carolina will receive $5.92 million to expand EV charging infrastructure. Notably, many of these cities have the lowest EV registrations in the state. Highlights: Target Areas: Funding aims to address EV infrastructure gaps in counties with the lowest EV adoption, including Martin County (95th) and Warsaw (76th). Top Recipients: Charlotte, which ranks 2nd in EV registrations, will also receive funds. Funding Distribution: A total of $109 million will be allocated statewide over seven years, targeting major coverage gaps per the NEVI program. Partnering Businesses: Sites like Firehouse Subs, Love's Travel Stops, and Pilot Flying J will host some of the new chargers. The initiative is part of a broader $4.1 billion federal effort to build a nationwide EV network. For more information on the program and its impact, read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gNRqXCvD

40% of Brits don’t have a driveway. Without a comprehensive on-street parking infrastructure, EVs are off-limits for almost half of the UK population – unless they live in London, in which case, on-street chargers are almost as common as street lights. Good to see the Government has extended their chargepoint grant to those without a driveway. #EV #EVChargers #ElectricVehicles #UKDrivers

Why does Steven Bartlett think we're 'investable'? 💭 👉 Our through-pavement EV cable channel is simple to install, and even simpler to use. Drivers feed the cable into the channel, plug in and start charging! 👉 Our channels mould to the shape of the pavement, so even on wonky footpaths, it always runs flush to the surface, eliminating trip hazards. 👉 Drivers without off-street parking have access to 5-10x cheaper charging costs at home, granting savings of over £1100 a year. #evs #evcharging #dragonsden #bbc #homecharging

“What if there was a more affordable and convenient way to charge your electric vehicle in multi-unit buildings?” — That’s the question Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield of Transport Evolved explored with our CEO and Co-founder, David Corbeil, at the recent Everything Electric Canada event in Vancouver🚗🔌⚡️ In this insightful interview, David explains how RVE is transforming EV charging for apartment complexes and condominiums, and how our solutions provide a seamless, cost-effective way to charge at home without requiring expensive panel upgrades. David also introduces our latest innovations, the HUB and DCC+, which are designed to make EV charging even more accessible and efficient for multi-unit dwellings 🔌🏢 📽️Watch the full interview to learn how RVE is leading the way in making EV charging simpler, smarter, and more sustainable for multifamily homes 👉 https://hubs.ly/Q02Rll580 #RVE #DCC+ #DCCbyRVE #HUBbyRVE #TransportEvolved #EVCharging #ElectricVehicles #EverythingElectricCanada #SustainableLiving #MultiUnitBuildings #EVInfrastructure

This is a tale of two state Departments of Transportation (DOT) - California DOT (Caltrans) and Nevada DOT (NDOT). The metrics that matter are high Pavement Condition Indices (PCI) and the efficient use of taxpayer dollars. Caltrans is among the largest recipient of funds yet has the lowest PCI in the nation. NDOT has nowhere near the taxation of California. NDOT ranks 47th among the 50 states in per capita transportation spending. Its PCI is the second best in the nation behind Florida. Why the disconnect in California. My theory is that Nevada DOT works dignity at keeping its PCI above 80 which is well above the 68 "tipping point". California has had decades of infrastructure neglect to the point that many of its roads quickly degraded below the 68 "tipping point", thereby escalating the cost of repairs and in some cases completely rebuilding failed roads. Also sound traffic engineering is often pushed aside for inflated egos. Traffic is a Title Act in California whereas Civil is a Practice Act. This has led to "turf wars" at Caltrans, so much so that while Caltrans "bickers" internally, other state DOT's invest in the latest technology and build state of the art transportation systems. What are your thoughts? www.dot.ca.gov #civilengineering #transportationplanning #trafficengineering

"There's plenty of capacity. It's a matter of how that's distributed across the system."   EV Realty’s Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Sullivan, caught up with Erik Sherman from GlobeSt.com, discussing how to tap into grid power to support MHD fleet infrastructure. For more, check out the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ewxakQrY #EVs #Utilities #Sustainability #GridPower #PoweredProperties

What I find the most interesting is that the City of San Diego went through the RFP process about 1.5 years ago for this deal. Myself, many of you on my Linkedin feed, as well as some of the most savvy and sophisticated EV CPO's (Volta, EA, XCharge, EVCS) and some that are even HEADQUARTERED here in SD (EVGo, Nuuve) did not win inexplicably despite extremely robust RFP submittals I had personally seen. What would prompt the City to select an unknown consulting company to build and maintain 400 properties worth of critical infrastructure? What do you think? Todd Gloria Shelby Rust Buso #EVCharging #SanDiego #Lobbying #EVInfrastructure