5 minutes Date Launched: Feb 2, 2022
Evie, a new one-way electric carsharing program, has launched in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In this carsharing program, customers can borrow white and green Chevy Bolts and start and end their trips anywhere within a 35 square mile area. Customers can pay by the minute, hour, or day and use an app or a Metro Transit Go-To Card to begin, pause, and end their trips. Users can park the Evie vehicles at any legal parking spot in the service areas. Plans exist to offer fare credits to users if they return the vehicles to any designated charging station. When fully implemented, Evie Carshare will have a fleet of 171 electric cars and 70 EV Spot Charging locations. These EV Spot Charging locations will have two stations that can individually charge two cars (amounting to 280 on-street EV charging spaces).
Key partners in this project include the City of St. Paul, Minneapolis, Xcel Energy, and HOURCAR. Evie Carshare is part of an extensive program both Twin Cities are running to expand electric vehicle usage and charging called the EV Spot Network. Officials claim that this is the first carshare program in the United States powered by renewable energy. Moreover, Evie’s broad coverage area allows it to better reach communities of color and low-income communities. This project costs about $12 million, with support from federal, regional, local, and philanthropic dollars. Evie Carshare can serve as a model for implementing electric carshare and charging infrastructure in other communities while bolstering mobility choices for residents of the Twin Cities.
UPDATE: Will Schroeer, Executive Director of East Metro Strong, participated in a panel at SUMC’s Mobility Innovation Collaborative Workshop on March 16, 2022, where he discussed innovative funding on the local level for Evie Carshare. Click here to read a recap and watch a recording of his presentation.
Last updated June 9, 2022