Electric vehicle-sharing company eyes Laramie
Innova EV plans to launch a two-year pilot program in the Gem City, bringing a fleet of 14 electric vehicles that could be rented for short trips within city limits.
A rentable fleet of mini electric cars could hit Laramie streets next summer.
Innova EV is planning to bring 14 of its Dash vehicles to the city, installing charging stations at seven as-of-yet-undecided locations around town. Residents will be able to borrow the vehicles using a smartphone app.
Brandon Bordenkircher of Innova EV presented his company’s plan for a two-year pilot program during the Laramie City Council’s work session Tuesday. He said the shared electric vehicles could aid the city’s goal of reducing emissions while also addressing Laramie’s limited public transportation options.
“Current solutions like ridesharing, bike-sharing and scooter-sharing solve some of the issues that are lacking in our cities, but they still have shortcomings,” Bordenkircher said. “Our Dash vehicles are priced more comparable to the bikes and scooters than they are to other car-sharing. They’re affordable, they’re safe in all weather — they’re fully enclosed with AC and heat. They are zero emissions and low speed.”
The cars cannot go above 35 mph and would be geofenced to limit their range within town.
Bordenkircher said the car can be unlocked for a dollar and rented for about 29 cents a minute thereafter. This mirrors the business model used by the company behind Laramie’s new electric scooters.
Dash vehicles will also sell sponsorships to offset the cost of insurance and upkeep, meaning the cars might have wraps that advertise national businesses.
To use a Dash vehicle, a resident would have to download the app, upload photos of their license and other documentation, and agree to let the company confirm their identity by taking a photo of the driver every time they rent a ride.
Unlike Laramie’s electric scooters, which can be left just about anywhere, Dash rides must start and end at designated charging stations. So they will likely be more useful to some than to others.
“It’s really a matter of how you hit those most dense residential areas that need that transportation to allow … to get to the places they want to go,” Assistant City Manager Todd Feezer said.
Bordenkircher stressed that the program does not require any funds from the city, as the company is paid by individual riders. The company will purchase parking spots from the city or from businesses.
Councilors were generally supportive of the program, but still had a lot of questions about security, logistics and how the program might fit into the city’s larger sustainability goals.
“Could somebody with a Tesla, or a Chevy Volt, or something like that, come and charge off (the Innova chargers)?” Councilor Fred Schmechel asked. “And could we use that for some infrastructure for EV vehicles around the community, or are they specific to your vehicles?”
Bordenkircher said his company might consider that proposal.
“We see the community benefit of our car-sharing platform as-is,” he said. “But it would be great to encourage other folks who are already ahead of the game and have electric vehicles to give them access to the chargers. So that is something we could consider as long as we were able to install enough chargers to cover our vehicles to begin with.”
Because rides begin and end only at charging stations, one could safely take a Dash vehicle to the grocery store, park it outside and be assured that their ride is still there — not rented by someone else — when they return, arms full of groceries.
But Councilor Sharon Cumbie asked whether a shopping trip would get too expensive, since that ride is still charging 29-cents-a-minute while the person is in the store.
Bordenkircher said his company might implement an optional half-hour rate that works out to less than the usual rate per minute.
“We’re still working out the pricing and that pricing would differ from city to city,” he said.
The council also recognized that 35 mph is slower than a couple of roads within the city. Specifically, one cannot travel the length of Snowy Range Road into West Laramie without hitting a 45 mph zone. And it’s difficult getting to Wal-Mart without doing the same.
But Councilor Bryan Shuster said that issue was unlikely to be a dealbreaker.
“Every place we have talked about with a 45 mph speed zone has four lanes,” Shuster said. “If they’re in the right hand lane, they would be completely safe. This comes from a guy that has a bunch of antique scooters that the top speed is about 35 mph, and I have been in all of those places and never had a problem.”
There were several technical questions Bordenkircher could not answer — about the voltage of the vehicles, whether the vehicles were front-wheel drives, and how generous the insurance policy is — but he promised to send details to the councilors later this week.
Weaver said the councilors’ numerous questions should not be taken as a sign of their disapproval, and that in fact, most are supportive of the pilot program.
“We’re just trying to do our best to think about what other people might ask or what other constituents might ask,” Weaver said.
Feezer said he would work with Innova EV to answer those questions, reach an agreement and iron out locations for charging stations.
Innova EV plans to launch the program in summer 2022.
City Councilors have another work session scheduled for tonight, during which they plan to dig into the legislative redistricting process, and discuss what it means for the city wards they represent.