Incentives For Electric Cars Should Also Include Roads
New tax incentives to coax automakers into producing electric cars won't help consumers right away. The way to help now would be to make roads safer for the small electric vehicles currently available.
Drivers willing to use electric cars and other slow vehicles need a safe place to operate. Reserving lanes on some major boulevards and highways (excluding interstates and expressways) would immediately encourage commuters to try out a variety of conventional scooters and battery-powered carts and cars.
That approach is being tried elsewhere, but not here.
Among the proposals in the Florida Legislature this session is a bill granting a $2,000 rebate for converting a gas-electric hybrid car to a plug-in hybrid. The bill would also give plug-in cars free use of all Florida toll roads, and provides a $2,000 rebate for installing a public charging station.
The reasons lawmakers want to get electric cars on the road include stimulating the economy, protecting the environment, and reducing dependence on foreign oil.
The electric-car bill is sponsored by Rep. Adam Hasner, House majority leader from Delray Beach. Republican Sen. Thad Altman of Melbourne is sponsoring a similar version, which the Florida Electric Auto Association says "will accelerate the commercialization of highway-capable plug-in electric cars."
Let's hope so. Meanwhile, the federal stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama includes a 10 percent tax credit, up to $2,500, for anyone buying a new electric car or truck. It sounds great until you go shopping for an electric car to buy.
Very little is available now. Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan and Subaru are planning to introduce electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids next year or the year after. Volkswagen and Toshiba have agreed to cooperate on developing electric cars. Mitsubishi says it will sell a five-door electric hatchback called the MiEV, maybe later this year.
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