BALTIMORE — Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced today the City’s latest steps to promote the use of electric vehicles by residents, commuters, and City workers. By promoting electric vehicles, the City hopes to reduce harmful tailpipe emissions and the use of fossil fuel. During an event to celebrate National Drive Electric Week, the Mayor introduced a next-generation electric car charging station in downtown Baltimore, as well as a pilot program by Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW). The DC Fast Charger, located at the corner of East Lexington and Gay Streets, reduces the time it takes to charge an electric car from six hours to just 30 minutes. The Fast Charger also comes with two plugs, which will allow it to serve a wider variety of cars, including Teslas and Nissan Leafs. It is the first of its kind in the City, and among the first in Maryland. Paid for with $40,000 from Nissan and $5,000 from the Maryland Energy Administration, the DC Fast Charger joins more than 20 standard charging stations in parking garages around Baltimore. “Electric vehicles are keeping harmful tailpipe emissions out of our air, and they are reducing our reliance on fossil fuels,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. She also noted that DPW’s Office of Sustainable Energy is conducting a pilot program in which employees are driving four different electric vehicles to see how they may work as part of the City’s fleet. The four cars – a Chevy Spark, a Smart Fortwo, a Nissan Leaf, and a VW e-Golf – were secured with the help of a $52,500 grant from Maryland Smart Energy Communities. The pilot program will determine how quickly the employees adapt to the cars, use the cars, charge the cars, and how quickly the cars save money for the City by not using gasoline.