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Minneapolis and St. Paul have officially launched the Evie Carsharing network in collaboration with HourCar. The all-electric car-sharing networking will ideally help cut back on carbon emissions.
Officials hope they can convince residents to give up their own cars in favor of walking, biking or using public transportation if residents know they will still have access to Evie cars if and when they need them.
HourCar will oversee the operations. The nonprofit provides “a variety of round-trip hub-based vehicles around the Twin Cities and Rochester, available for trips as short as 30 minutes or as long as three days,” according to their website.
The Evie Carshare network has 171 vehicles parked at 71 car-charging stations called “EV Spots.” The cars can be accessed through a series of monthly plans. However, they can also be tailored to daily, long-distance, student, low-income or occasional users.
Most of the car-sharing stations are located in or near communities of color and along transit routes.
“This project is building out the infrastructure of a clean and green economy,” U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said (via the Pioneer Press). “The reality is we are in the midst of a climate crisis that is threatening our economy…our way of living.”
“We’re going to be expanding the number of charging stations, the number of vehicles in the fleet, because to be honest we don’t really have an option right now,” Smith added.