Sacramento region is on the road to a clean energy future

Henry Li is the general manager/CEO of the Sacramento Regional Transit District. He can be reached at (916) 556-0488.

Sacramento leaders took a big step towards carbon neutrality last year when they teamed up with a private company to turn part of a light rail station parking lot into one of the state's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging hubs.

The high-speed charging facility at Power Inn Station is the first of several experimental "mobility hubs" aimed at accelerating the Sacramento region's clean energy future. It can provide a template for public agencies that also want to team up with private entrepreneurs.

State officials have praised the public-private partnership, noting that projects like these will help California meet its ambitious goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 2045.

"This is how it starts," California State Treasurer Fiona Ma said at an opening event last fall. "California is the leader. This is a game changer. We can't wait to have more fast chargers around the state."

The partners on the Power Inn Station project include Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT), the California State Treasurer's Office, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and GiddyUp EV Charging, Inc., the charging facility's private operator.

The news that the region's main bus and rail agency is playing an expanded leadership role in transportation electrification might seem unorthodox. But the reasoning is simple: The agency's 54 light rail stations are prime locations for electrification hubs and transit-oriented development, including housing.

Making those sites available for development means more transit riders. The development includes EV chargers, but it could someday include EV rentals, e-bikes, and arrangements with rideshare services.

The station's large parking lot provides easy access for drivers passing through the region or commuters heading downtown via the bustling Gold Line. The site is also next to the city's main industrial area, making it a convenient place to quickly charge heavy-duty vehicles and bus fleets.

Chris Jerome, GiddyUp founder and CEO, said the goal is to merge public and private assets to make electrification fast, convenient, and safe for all communities, drivers, and vehicles.

"If we are going to change the country, we have to show how you do it right," he said.

GiddyUp installed ten Level 3 high-speed charging stations in the lot, with room for 10 more if needed. It pays a flat monthly fee to SacRT and will pay additional fees if revenues hit target amounts. The site is secured by station lighting, as well as real-time cameras and a communications system that allows remote monitors to speak to people on site.

As with any pioneering effort, the start-up process involves some trial and error. Three of the 10 chargers once went down because of software issues. But SacRT and GiddyUp EV saw the moment as a learning process that could make future similar projects easier for Sacramento and others around the state.

"We're heading in the right direction for our customers," Jerome said. "Our goal is to be the industry leader in uptime."

He says future success hinges in part on the ability of public and private agencies to team up. This creates an economy of scale for private companies, assurances of multiple access points for industries with electric fleets, and peace of mind for drivers who worry about battery range.

Transit does not stand on its own

The need for more electrification infrastructure is clear. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District estimates that there will be nearly one million electric vehicles in the Capital region by 2040. That's roughly one electric vehicle for every three residents.

But like much of California, the Sacramento area lacks the infrastructure necessary for those vehicles. We cannot catch up in an ad hoc way. That's why four Sacramento agencies formally agreed to work together on climate change-related projects and secure funding.

SacRT, along with the heads of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments meet monthly for lunch, often joined by U.S. Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

Alberto Ayala, chief executive for Sac Metro Air District, says that electrification is best done holistically, especially given limited available grant funding.

"We are agencies that are glued together because of our interest in better mobility and doing what we can to solve the climate crisis regionally," Ayala said. "The core agencies are trying to compete for project grants in a way that is integrated."

The agency recently opened the first mobility hub in the region on an empty lot in residential Del Paso Heights. One lesson learned, Ayala says, is that mobility hubs are easier to do on developed land with electrical infrastructure already in place.

Sac Metro Air District and SacRT recently secured grant funding to build three more mobility hubs at light rail stations in lower-income areas starting next year.

"A lot of what we are talking about are new concepts," Ayala said. "We need to be able to take a little risk and explore what will fit into the community."

The hubs will provide a mix of services, including more affordable EV charging stations and rideshare programs, e-bike and e-scooter share services, carpool connections, microtransit shuttles, and arrangements with rideshare companies to provide services for disabled people.

Charging stations and mobility hubs should be where people congregate, such as universities, transit-oriented housing, civic centers, and light rail stations. But that alone may not be enough to assure success. SacRT and its partners are looking into other amenities that draw people in. Those could include Amazon Prime lockers, food trucks, a coffee cart, or a farmer's market.

SacRT also plans to work with private developers to create more transit-oriented housing hubs near light rail stations or on station parking lots. SacRT recently partnered with a private developer to build a major apartment project on the parking lot at the University/65th Street light rail station.

2024 also marks the formal launch of the process to find private partners for potentially dozens more mobility hubs at light rail stations. Those hubs ideally would be cost-neutral. SacRT will work with communities around those hubs to determine what amenities each hub should have.

Project partners so far include Sacramento Clean Cities Coalition and the Sacramento-based Civic Thread, a grassroots group focused on health-built environments.

The concept, called "mobility integration," would help SacRT solve the longstanding "first-mile, last-mile" problem some transit riders face by offering them new ways to continue their journeys after deboarding. It's a learning process, SacRT Director of Planning Anthony Adams said.

"This is based on the idea that transit does not stand on its own," Adams said. "We have all the resources we need to play a vital role. We want to be a piece of the puzzle."

We need supporting amenities and context to make sure people can reach our services and get to their destination. This is about making a holistic mobility network, with first- and last-mile services that make our light rail system even more usable."

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