Get a charge out of electric vehicles on Oct. 2 as the Museum of Science & History hosts a JEA Drive Electric event with new EVs as well as a gathering of owners and their rides.
Set for the facility at 1025 Museum Circle, the 2-to-5 p.m. event also includes information on electric vehicles, and an autonomous version being tested now by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
There are currently at least 50 EV and PHEV cars, SUVs and pickup truck models on the market, and more models are expected to be released in the coming years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Major manufacturers say their fleets will be almost totally electric in the next decade or so. General Motors said its will be done by 2035, while Ford and Volkswagen say most if not all of its vehicles will be electric by 2030.
The JEA Drive Electric team will offer test drives as local owners show off their Teslas, Nissan Leafs, Chevrolet Volts and others. To RSVP for the event or show off your EV vehicle, sign in at driveelectricweek.org/event?eventid=2948.
On the Road: Florida charging stations multiply
The JTA will show off Olli, its fully autonomous electric people mover being tested for possible use in its 10-mile Ultimate Urban Circulator program. The 13-foot-long blue electric people mover would be used on the authority’s modified Skyway tracks over downtown and San Marco as well as 2.5 miles of Bay Street between Pearl Street and TIAA Bank Field within two years. It would also run to JTA’s LaVilla headquarters and bus hub in three to five years.
JTA also has two zero-emission, battery-powered electric buses built by GILLIG of Livermore, Calif., in collaboration with Cummins of Columbus, Ind. The full-size 40-foot buses seat up to 38 people each.
JEA officials will be at the MOSH event with information about other utility programs and initiatives. Staff from the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization, the independent regional transportation planning agency for Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties, will be there. So will Clean Fuels Coalition officials with information on alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies to reduce gas consumption.
According to Electrify America, there are 661 of its public EV charging sites in the Jacksonville area, including major office parks, shopping centers, public parking lots and auto dealerships.
Another 131 are coming, all offering CCS, CHADeMO and J1772 connectors so almost every EV model can charge for a fee paid at the station.
dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549