Tonight, the City Council of Jersey City will vote on an ordinance that would create an electric vehicle (EV) charging station “zone” for electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. If passed, the zone will be the first of its kind in New Jersey and would put Jersey City at the forefront of the movement towards eco-friendly travel alongside other forward-thinking cities such as Palo Alto, California.

In 2014, the first public EV charging stations were installed in Jersey City outside The Oakman and The Art House in the Powerhouse Arts District. These stations, in the last year alone, have shown an increase in usage of almost 400%. With a total of 4000 EV changeups to date, the stations have saved 2,987 gallons of gas and taken the equivalent of 5.6 gas fueled cars off the road for one year.

The charging stations also brought the first available EV car sharing program to Jersey City. Offered by Maven™, a General Motors brand, the company provides access to the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can be reserved through the Maven mobile app. Jersey City is Maven’s first presence in the New York Metropolitan area and since its launch in October 2016 has been one of Maven’s top locations.

“Following Mayor Fulop’s commitment to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement Goals, City Council’s passage of an EV ordinance for Jersey City will be awesome,” said Debra Italiano, founder of SustainableJC.org.

“Greenhouse gas emission reduction is the main objective of the accord, and an EV infrastructure to support electric vehicle expansion in Jersey City will be a key ingredient toward meeting those 2025 goals. Sustainable JC is pleased to support the initiative that brought 10 curbside EV charging stations downtown and introduced the Maven EV car sharing program. We are all very excited about the prospect of deploying additional charging stations throughout the City and hope the community supports this important initiative.”

Members of the public who support this environmentally conscious initiative are encouraged to attend tonight’s City Council meeting at 6:00 pm in the Anna and Anthony R. Cucci Memorial Council Chambers at City Hall located at 280 Grove Street to show your support. You can also use #EVinJC to show your support on social media.