Non-Profit Launches Electric Carshare Pilot, Hood River, OR, 2021

Forth has launched The Clean Rural Shared Electric Mobility (CRuSE) Project, a three-year electric carshare pilot in Hood River, a rural town about 60 miles east of Portland. For this pilot, users will have access to five Honda Clarity Electric cars throughout the town. Two of these cars will be located at City of Hood River property, one in the town’s waterfront and commerce area, and two at affordable housing sites owned by the Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation; the sites are intended to prioritize carshare access for city employees, tourists, and affordable housing participants respectively. CRuSE is funded by the Vehicle Technologies Office at the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and has the following partners to assist with its operations:

1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, for program evaluation;
2. OpConnect, for the electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
3. Envoy Technologies, for providing the carsharing platform where users can reserve, access, and pay for rides by smartphone or iPads located in secure common areas for people without access to the internet or smartphones; and
4. Pacific Power, for technical assistance and additional funding through its Oregon Electric Mobility Grants program.

Like other carsharing and vansharing programs, CRuSE is intended to provide a new mobility solution in a community where public transit is not always a reliable transportation choice. Carsharing can be especially valuable in rural areas as it allows people to use cars who cannot necessarily afford to own and maintain their own vehicle. This pilot, with its intentional siting of vehicles in areas of need, can also serve as a model for other carsharing programs.

Last updated June 29, 2021