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ODOT says they will not ignore e-bikes with $100 million EV charging funding

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EV charging station with a bicycle in the background.

Good charger, if you should use it.
(Picture: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Inside the $1.2 billion chunk of change the state of Oregon acquired from President Biden’s Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act, (IIJA) $52 million has been designated for electrical automobile charging stations. Extra funds will likely be supplied for this program by state sources. In complete, the Oregon Division of Transportation (ODOT) is committing $100 million over the following 5 years for electrical car charging.

“The Feds set the funding, and so they need e-cars.”
— Jillian DiMedio, ODOT

We’re watching intently to see how a lot — if any — of that cash will go towards electrical bicycle charging.

The time period “electrical car” (EV) usually refers solely to electrical vehicles, however bicycles are autos underneath Oregon legislation and if we need to attain the total potential of transportation electrification and convey the advantages of bicycling to extra individuals within the course of, we should develop our definition of EVs.

Based mostly on a press release from ODOT launched this week, they’re starting to see the sunshine. Of their announcement concerning the $100 million dedication, the company stated they’re not “ignoring different sorts of electrical autos.” “Micromobility (bicycles and scooters) are additionally going electrical… and ODOT will discover alternatives so as to add micromobility charging,” the press launch reads.

In the case of how they’ll discover these alternatives nonetheless, the small print are murky. ODOT has a transparent sport plan for a way they’re going to dole out the cash to construct an electrical automobile charging community; much less so for the plan to verify individuals can cost their e-bikes and different micromobility units whereas out and about.

That is partially as a result of a lot of purple tape across the IIJA funding and the federal authorities’s necessities to particularly fund electrical automobile charging says ODOT’s Senior Transportation Electrification Analyst Jillian DiMedio. “The Feds set the funding, and so they need e-cars particularly,” she shared with me in a dialog this morning.

However the deal with electrical vehicles isn’t solely due to federal necessities. The ODOT press launch states that the $100 million funding will likely be targeted on vehicles, SUVs and vans as a result of “demand is excessive and the know-how is mature.” This assertion is certain to ruffle some e-bike fanatic feathers, contemplating e-bike demand is definitely surpassing that of electrical vehicles, and e-bikes have been round longer than the primary trendy electrical vehicles.

DiMedio says another excuse e-bike charging is lagging is as a result of whereas entry to charging stations is essential to get round on an e-bike, a scarcity of public shops hasn’t been proven to be one of many principal boundaries to adoption.

“We’re actually dedicated to studying extra about this trade, and we need to perceive what the important thing boundaries are and the advisable methods for overcoming them,” DiMedio says. As an alternative of discovering a spot to recharge, DiMedio thinks greater adoption hurdles for would-be e-bikers are security considerations and price.

We’ve acknowledged this in our reporting on what’s holding again the e-bike growth, however a scarcity of public demand for e-bike charging wants shouldn’t be the one information level when the EV charging dialog has by no means totally welcomed bikes into the combination. If ODOT invests in charging for EVs, they have to be inclusive of extra than simply vehicles.

Shawne Martinez found out tips on how to cost his e-bike at a charging station meant for vehicles.

“We acknowledge electrical micromobility as one among our use circumstances. They actually can exchange automobile journeys,” DiMedio says. “And schooling and consciousness are an enormous a part of this. Folks don’t acknowledge the capability.”

As it’s now, ODOT is working with non-public firm Electrical Automobile Charging Options on upgrades to the charging stations alongside the West Coast Electrical Freeway, and these upgrades will embrace putting in new 120 volt shops for electrical bikes and scooters.

DiMedio says they’re additionally working with Forth on a research about micromobility wants. The final ODOT electrification research didn’t give e-bikes their due, so hopefully this new research will likely be extra insightful into how higher to serve e-bike customers.

Finally, DiMedio says they need to be working from all sides. “Our objective is to impress every thing that strikes,” she says.