EVLN(Otay Ranch will nEV around the community)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20020921-9999_6m21ecar.html
Otay Ranch abuzz over electric cars
Community will roll out its pilot program today
By Amy Oakes UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 21, 2002
CHULA VISTA � On a typical day, Patricia Cano drives her
sport utility vehicle all around the Otay Ranch community in
which she lives.
Cano, who teaches first grade at Heritage Elementary,
travels to work each weekday morning. In the afternoons, she
often makes a trip to the grocery store to feed her teen-age
sons and younger daughter. Later, she might visit her
sisters, who also live in Otay Ranch.
Her busy lifestyle made Cano the perfect candidate for a
pilot program which, starting today, will test electric cars
in one of the county's largest and newest communities.
"I'm within the Otay Ranch all the time," said Cano, who
moved there in 1999. "This is just a perfect opportunity to
try out an electrical car."
For the next 60 days, Cano and members of 24 other families
in Otay Ranch will drive around the community, at no faster
than 25 mph, in electric cars built by Global Electric
Motorcars, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler. Their thoughts
about the car and their travel habits will be recorded by a
nonprofit design company.
Company officials said Otay Ranch was selected as a test
site because of its reputation as a well-planned community
with transit and pedestrian access. They want to use the
research to better understand people's transportation habits
and needs, especially in planned communities where people
live, work, shop and go to school.
The families will receive their vehicles and instructions at
10 a.m. today at Heritage Park.
"We're just trying to see how these vehicles can stir up a
discussion about how to improve the transit system," said
Dan Sturges, executive director of Mobility Lab, the design
company. "Ultimately, it's about addressing our air quality,
energy, traffic congestion (and) the cost of
transportation."
To qualify for the program, participants must live and work
within the two neighborhoods already built in Otay Ranch.
They must make at least one trip each day in their electric
cars.
"They (the manufacturers) want to know what residents think
and how they will use them in their daily lives," said Rich
Whipple, an assistant planner for the city.
The only cost to residents is to recharge the vehicles,
which takes about eight hours in a standard 110-volt outlet.
The vehicles are powered by a 72-volt motor and a pack of
six industrial 12-volt batteries. They can travel up to 35
miles on a full charge.
"Ooooh," Cano said after learning the maximum speed and
distance. But, she said, she will make the sacrifice to save
money and to give her Ford Explorer a rest.
"I see it as a way of saving money," said Cano, whose family
owns four cars. "It's more convenient and it helps the
environment."
Sturges said the average cost for a 35-mile charge is 50
cents.
Tricia Archer said she spends more than $20 to fill her
minivan's gas tank. She plans to use the electric car to
take her 4-year-old daughter to the pool and park.
"It'll be nice to not have to get in my minivan," she said.
Sturges said the car maker wants to show how electric
vehicles can fit into the city's transit plans. The data
will be used to promote the use of electric vehicles around
the country. Mobility Lab also plans to help develop
programs here, such as one in which residents pay for access
to a bank of cars.
Electric-car makers have implemented pilot programs across
the country, including on college campuses and in planned
communities such as Playa Vista in Los Angeles, Sturges
said.
The electric-car market has been shaken as some
manufacturers move toward developing hybrid petrol-electric
cars. Ford recently announced it will stop production of its
Think electric car to concentrate on other environmentally
friendly technologies.
"They never had a chance to understand the market," said Ken
Montler, president of Global Electric Motorcars. "People say
electric cars aren't profitable, but we've already shown
NEVs (neighborhood electric vehicles) can be."
The Fargo, N.D.-based car maker has put 13,000 of its
vehicles on the road, Montler said. The cars can cost from
about $6,995 for a two-passenger vehicle to $8,995 for a
four-passenger model, according to the company's Website.
Planned communities such as Otay Ranch make up a quarter of
the market, but that could double or triple in the future,
Montler said.
The 5,300-acre Otay Ranch community, the top-selling
development in the county for the past two years, was
designed for electric vehicles, said Ranie Hunter, vice
president for the developer.
The community, which will add more than 10,000 homes over
the next 30 years, features pedestrian-and transit-friendly
features such as sidewalks and trolley right-of-way. The
dozen neighborhoods are or will be connected by 10-foot-wide
pathways suited for electric cars.
"These pieces are already in place," Hunter said. "We were
waiting for electric cars."
Cano said she might consider buying an electric car. She
said she doesn't need a big gas guzzler for small trips
around her neighborhood.
"I hope it grows," Cano said. "I hope families see how great
they are."
Amy Oakes: (619) 498-6633; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
� Copyright 2002 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
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