(The Center Square) – The Washington Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council is set to release an updated draft of its Transportation Electrification Strategy next month as part of an effort to shift away from the use of fossil fuels. However, the council has already conceded that, even if implemented as proposed, the TES won’t meet the state’s greenhouse gas emission goals.
In 2008, the state Legislature passed a bill outlining GHG emission reductions. Those goals were later updated in 2020 to reduce GHG emissions by 45% by 2030, with the ultimate goal of reducing GHG 95% by 2050. Washington’s transportation sector makes up half of total state GHG emissions.
However, according to Electric Vehicle Advisory Committee documents regarding the TES, “despite the aggressive electrification outlined, the transportation sector still falls short of the 2030 GHG reduction limit in state law.”
The strategy to transition the transportation sector toward electrical vehicles faces numerous logistical challenges. Among them is the cost of EV vehicles, which can be more than total household income. The council’s advisory committee has contemplated the idea of a “cash for clunkers” type program that would provide public subsidies for EV purchases.
Another issue in electrifying the transportation sector is the dearth of chargers. According to the council, the state will need 3 million EV chargers by 2035 to meet its goals. Currently, there are just 4,600, which would require 250,000 to be built annually.
Additionally, efforts to discourage single passenger vehicle use in favor of public transit have hit a snag. Speaking at the council’s Wednesday’s meeting, advisory group member Susan Baird-Joshi said, “I don’t know if we really ever grappled with the effect that Covid had on ridership.” She also noted a recent UW study that found traces of drugs in public transit located in western Washington. The agencies have vowed to improve safety conditions.
However, Baird-Joshi said “it’s not just a problem of getting the buses. It’s getting the drivers to drive the buses. It’s getting people to repair and maintain the buses. That public transportation needs to completely retool itself and really needs to look hard at the services they are producing so when they do buy public buses and the state provides grants for the infrastructure … it meets the needs of our communities.”
The final TES will be submitted to the Legislature by the end of the year.
