Under a contract with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), California-based benefit corporation Green Commuter has launched six all-electric vanpools under Metro’s subsidized vanpool program.
Green Commuter claims to be the first U.S.-based company to offer electric vehicles (EVs) for a public transit vanpool program.
In August 2018, the company was approved as a vendor under Metro’s Vanpool Supplier Bench program. The agency’s vanpool program offers an economical and environmentally friendly ridesharing option to approximately 10,000 commuters. Green Commuter’s EVs offered through Metro’s program serve six distinct groups commuting from Los Angeles County origin points, including Redondo Beach, Palmdale, Rancho Cucamonga and Corona del Mar.
Incorporating EVs into Metro’s vanpool program fulfills a goal outlined in the Metro Vision 2028 Strategic Plan. The first goal of the plan is to “provide high-quality mobility options that enable people to spend less time traveling.” Green Commuter says its all-electric option for Metro’s vanpool program reduces travel time, reduces the number of single-occupant vehicles on roadways, and directly engages commuters in regional sustainability objectives.
“The Metro Vanpool Program is one of the largest publicly funded vanpool programs in the country and helps thousands of people travel to and from work each day,” says L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. “These new electric vanpool vehicles make for a truly green commute. Overall, our program is helping take 6,000 cars off the road every weekday and further reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.”
“Green Commuter is about democratizing the electric vehicle and making it affordable to the broader population. With Green Commuter’s model, people of all income levels can now drive a zero-emission vehicle to work every day while saving money,” comments Gustavo Occhiuzzo, CEO of Green Commuter.
This is amazing. I wish this could happen in Austin. They just use huge Enterprise SUVs.