San Francisco is aiming for 100% emission-free transportation within city limits by 2040, as it introduced a plan today that looks to embrace the “opportunity” in electric vehicles.
The city released its Proposed Electric Vehicle Roadmap for San Francisco, which states that “all trips originating in, ending in or passing through San Francisco will be emission-free” by 2040.
It also aims to set interim targets, including a desire to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2030 — all new registered passenger vehicles would be EVs by that time, though the roadmap seems to include “transitional zero-emission vehicles” like plug-in hybrids in that definition.
The roadmap has a full analysis of how it plans to emphasize electric vehicles for the city, examining everything from emissions to heavy-duty vehicles to charging infrastructure.
On that last point, San Francisco is introducing legislation which proposes that all commercial parking lots and garages will be required to provide 10% of its spaces with EV charging stations by 2023, SF Weekly reports. Any parking lots with more than 100 parking spaces would be included, which would affect more than 300 lots in the city. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said,
“We know that one of the biggest barriers for people considering driving an electric vehicle is access to charging, so we want to make sure our city has the charging infrastructure that’s needed. Whether you’re parked at the grocery store to run errands or getting ready to leave the city for a road trip, you should be able to find a spot to charge — and get to your destination without having to use fossil fuels.”
The city itself aims to add hundreds of new EV chargers to municipal parking lots, as well.
Earlier this year, San Francisco unveiled a plan that would require its largest private commercial buildings to run on 100% renewable electricity, as the city itself is aiming to do by 2030.
Fellow California city Los Angeles set its own goals for zero-emission transportation earlier this year, as it aims to be emission-free by 2050.
Electrek’s Take
With its new proposals, San Francisco looks to lead American cities in EV support, just as it does on renewable electricity and emissions. One could certainly argue for pushing up the deadline — it could be done before 2040 — but it’s a start.
Banning new gasoline and diesel vehicle registrations by 2030 will go a long way in meeting that goal, though we don’t think there’s a need to include “transitional zero-emission vehicles” like plug-in hybrids.
We are already seeing PHEV sales drop in favor of BEVs and that trend is likely going to continue and accelerate.
The charging legislation looks to be unlike anything else in the US, as well, as it puts the onus on large lot/garage owners to install chargers. If the city follows through, it will do more to push EV adoption to a new level in what’s already the most EV-friendly state in the country.
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