E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap - Page 1 of 6
E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap
Table of Contents
1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................................1 2 E-Mobility Overview ...............................................................................................................................................2 3 Policy Context .........................................................................................................................................................3 4 Role of the E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap ...............................................................................................................4 5 Insights from Supporting Analyses and Research.........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. 6 Strategies and Actions.............................................................................................................................................4 1 Introduction
This E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap provides a framework for Palo Alto to advance its electric transportation goals. It lays out the vision, guiding principles, strategies, and actions necessary to transition to a sustainable, equitable, and electrified transportation network that aligns with local and state climate objectives.
1.1 Vision Statement
A community where safe, multi-modal, carbon-free transportation is widely available, user-friendly, and highly utilized by commuters, visitors, and residents regardless of income level The vision promotes a comprehensive, accessible, and inclusive approach to transportation, emphasizing multi- modal electric mobility solutions that are environmentally sustainable and beneficial for all community members, regardless of income.
1.2 Guiding Principles
These guiding principles shape the roadmap's strategic approach, emphasizing the importance of equity, accessibility, strategic infrastructure deployment, efficient use of resources, and integration with broader electrification and resilience planning.
Promote electrified mobility alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles Provide access to electric transportation regardless of income level Access to adequate charging should be available to all residents, commuters, and visitors E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap – Page 2 of 6
Information on purchasing, renting/sharing, and charging of electric transportation should be widely available
Charging infrastructure should be provided at appropriate locations, speeds, and configurations that meet the needs of all residents, commuters, and visitors Pursue low-grid-impact charging solutions that integrate with broader electrification planning Focus on strategic siting of publicly accessible charging to serve nearby electric transportation users Where appropriate, provide financial incentives to the community to install chargers Provide cost-efficient business models that leverage the financial strengths of each stakeholder The guiding principles provide more nuance to the vision statement listed above, describing how the vision for a future community will be implemented through the strategies and actions in this roadmap. 2 E-Mobility Overview
This section provides an overview of e-mobility broadly, its infrastructure needs, and how it might be used in Palo Alto.
2.1 What is E-Mobility?
E-mobility involves the use of electric-powered vehicles as an alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based transportation. It includes a range of transportation modes such as electric cars, buses, bikes, scooters, and trucks, offering cleaner and often more efficient alternatives.
2.2 E-Mobility in Palo Alto
Palo Alto’s e-mobility ecosystem encompasses a diverse range of electric transportation options. Personal electric vehicles, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, are increasingly popular for short-distance travel and first- and last-mile connectivity. Shared micromobility services, including bike-share and scooter-share programs, are not available in Palo Alto but could provide accessible options for those without personal vehicles. As a suburban community, Palo Alto’s e-mobility will include electric cars as a major component. In the commercial sector, medium-duty electric delivery vans can be utilized for local logistics, reducing emissions from freight transport, but charging is likely delivered primarily outside Palo Alto. Heavy-duty electric vehicles, such as electric buses and garbage trucks, are being integrated into public transit and municipal services, and do need charging infrastructure.
2.3 Co-Benefits
E-mobility offers co-benefits beyond GHG reduction, including improved local air quality from zero tailpipe emissions, reduced noise pollution, enhanced public health through increased active transport options, and lower transportation costs for users due to reduced fuel and maintenance expenses. Expanded adoption of small EVs like e-bikes and e-scooters could enable access to transit for those who currently have difficulty accessing it and could widen the population using active transportation modes, reducing congestion and non-exhaust air pollution from cars (which can be generated by electric cars as well). Traveling with small EVs is also more energy efficient, reducing impacts to the electric grid and reducing the amount of renewable electricity generation needed.
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2.4 E-Mobility as a Last Mile Solution
E-bikes and e-scooters facilitate last-mile journeys by providing a quick, flexible connection between transit stops and final destinations, enhancing the overall attractiveness of public transportation, reducing reliance on personal vehicles for short trips, and improving network accessibility.
2.5 Economics and Tradeoffs: E-Mobility vs. Conventional Mobility E-mobility includes tradeoffs against conventional mobility and may be more or less expensive. For example, e- -e-cars are cheaper than conventional cars over time but can result in range anxiety and charging issues for adopters and the need for specialized charging infrastructure. E-bikes and e-scooters, on the other hand, have higher costs per mile than conventional bicycles and scooters, but are balanced by increased convenience, accessibility, and ease of use.
2.6 E-Mobility Charging Infrastructure
Small EVs can usually charge with a common 120V outlet, though for some e-bike designs without detachable batteries it may be challenging to find an outlet convenient to secure charging. E-car charging infrastructure varies from low-speed, low-cost Level 1 chargers suitable for most average daily use, to faster Level 2 chargers providing enough charging for several days or for long trips, and high-speed direct current (DC) fast chargers to supplement home charging or for other public and commercial applications. Heavy vehicle fleets may require many high- capacity chargers, straining local electric grids. Charging considerations include up-front capital investment, ensuring sufficient electrical capacity, optimizing charger placement, and addressing safety concerns such as battery thermal events.
3 Policy Context
This E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap fulfills the 2023-2025 S/CAP Work Plan Work Item 2.5A to develop an EV Strategic Plan. It is meant to align with the policy guidelines in Appendix C of that document and complements the Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan, which focuses more heavily on the electric distribution system impacts and benefits of e-mobility and other technologies. This E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap is intended to provide a coordinated approach to achieving several relevant Sustainability and climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Goals and Key Actions, including:
The Electric Vehicle section Goals to reduce transportation-related GHG emissions and to build out an EV charging network
The Mobility section Goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and increase active transportation and transit use
Mobility Key Action M2 focused on increasing access to transit using, among other solutions, micromobility as a last-mile solution
EV Key Actions EV1 and EV3 focused on EV promotion, including promoting alternative transportation and electric micromobility alongside EVs
EV Key Action EV4 on facilitating adoption of EVs of all types EV Key Action EV5 focused on creating infrastructure for electric micromobility and active transportation when building EV infrastructure
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3 Role of the E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap
The E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap is intended as a high-level strategic document to guide work on e-mobility. It is not meant to be a work plan, and specific work items will be identified in other plans or the 2026-2027 S/CAP Work Plan. In addition, this roadmap is meant to complement other plans, not replace or overlap with them.
Complementary plans include:
Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (in development) Safe Streets for All (in development)
Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan (adopted, being implemented) Shared Micromobility Study (in development)
EV Charger Needs Assessment (in development)
The table below shows various topics and how they are addressed in each plan, strategy, or roadmap:
Topic Plan(s)
Building the bike network Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Bike, pedestrian, and e-bike safety Safe Streets for All, Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan
Shared e-bikes and e-scooters Shared Micromobility Feasibility Study Mitigating the grid impact of e-cars and e-trucks Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan Availability of safe charging infrastructure for
various types of e-mobility and users
E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap
Strategies for e-mobility promotion E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap Economics of e-mobility as a solution for GHG
reduction and achievement of co-benefits
E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap
Equitable access to e-mobility E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap Number of EV chargers needed to support various
sectors, business models for charging
EV Charger Needs Assessment
Private e-bike economics EV Charger Needs Assessment
In several of the strategies and actions below the E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap notes coordination with the plans and analyses above (for example, making sure managed charging is promoted or required in multi-family EV charging installations to coordinate with the Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan). 4 Strategies and Actions
The following strategies and actions are designed to guide the City’s e-mobility efforts in the areas of promotion, equity, supporting infrastructure, and ensuring e-mobility efforts complement other transportation and electric grid reliability planning efforts. Collectively, these strategies and actions provide a roadmap for coordinated implementation across various programs, projects, and related efforts involving e-mobility as a central focus or as one of a broader set of objectives.
4.1 Strategy 1: Raise awareness of the advantages of electric transportation and provide resources and assistance to help residents, businesses, commuters, and visitors transition This strategy focuses on comprehensive outreach, education, and partnership-building for e-mobility. Outreach efforts are intended to be complementary, with smaller e-mobility technologies like e-bikes and e-scooters being promoted as part of efforts to promote active transportation or as a last mile solution for transit, and emissions E-Mobility Strategic Roadmap – Page 5 of 6
reduction more broadly being promoted in the context of active transportation and transit solutions – promoting getting out of cars, but if you have to drive, drive electric. Equitable promotion of e-mobility and regional partnerships are key considerations in this strategy to reach income-qualified travelers and commuters.
Action 1: Continue and expand existing outreach, education, and engagement efforts to promote electric transportation adoption to residents and commuters
Action 2: Combine promotion of public transit and active transportation with promotion of e-mobility solutions, especially “last mile” solutions
Action 3: Create communications tailored to the needs of low-income residents and renters Action 4: Seek regional partnerships to promote all types of electric transportation to residents regionally and to promote electric cars and trucks to businesses like rideshare / delivery with high regional vehicle use
5.2 Strategy 2: Help underserved residents, businesses / nonprofits, and commuters access electric transportation
This strategy addresses barriers faced by underserved populations by facilitating access to electric vehicles, chargers, and shared mobility services through targeted programs and incentives. In this context “underserved” means groups who are not well served by private industry efforts to install charging. A key consideration for this strategy is economic efficiency to ensure infrastructure being built is widely accessible.
Action 1: Active facilitation of EV charging, bicycle infrastructure, and shared electric vehicles (carshare, e-bike share, e-scooter share, etc.) for multi-family complexes, major employers, and in employment centers Action 2: Explore preferential parking and charging for visitors in electric vehicles Action 3: Explore ways to ease the provision of electrical infrastructure to support chargers in multi-family complexes, major employers, transit and mobility hubs, places serving electric aviation, and in employment centers
Action 4: Identify cost-efficient business models for service delivery that are highly scalable and minimize the amount of additional funding and financing required, , including strategies to avoid or minimize associated costs like transformer, panel, and other electrical upgrades.
5.3 Strategy 3: Pursue public and shared electric transportation infrastructure This strategy aims to expand public and shared charging infrastructure to ensure high utilization of infrastructure, enable access for those less able to afford their own e-mobility solutions or who are not yet ready to fully commit to e-mobility, and to enable facilities that can be used by multiple groups in the community (such as employees and nearby multi-family residents).
Action 1: Map areas of high potential for shared electric transportation infrastructure such as publicly available charging, bike infrastructure, or shared vehicles
Action 2: Explore e-mobility hubs near multi-family housing and employment centers that include amenities like DC fast EV charging, electric car share, bike share, or bicycle infrastructure.
Action 3: Explore public-private partnerships (e.g. in churches, neighborhood centers) and on-street charging to add EV charging allowing for all-day and/or overnight charging near employment centers and multi-family residences.
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5.4 Strategy 4: Develop small EV (e.g. e-bike, e-scooter) infrastructure and programs that complements City active transportation and public transit strategies This strategy ensures that e-mobility strategies enhance active transportation networks and programs, for example by integrating micromobility infrastructure—such as e-bike and e-scooter docking and supportive facilities—with existing bike and pedestrian routes and ensuring mobility hubs do not interfere with bike lanes or other active transportation pathways, or by using e-bikes and e-scooters to enhance last-mile employee and resident commute programs and generate more participation.
Action 1: Ensure e-mobility hub locations complement public transit and bicycle/scooter friendly routes where possible
Action 2: Pursue implementation of low-stress bicycle facilities to encourage e-bike and e-scooter use, especially for novice riders
Action 3: Coordinate e-mobility strategies with City active transportation and public transit strategies wherever possible and use e-mobility to enhance community VMT reduction efforts
5.5 Strategy 5: Encourage charging that helps the local and statewide electric system and is aligned with Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan strategies and actions This strategy is focused on making sure e-mobility infrastructure, primarily e-car charging, minimizes its impact on the electric grid. It includes smart charging and load management programs to optimize charging behavior, minimize grid impacts, and align with the city’s reliability and resiliency objectives.
Action 1: Investigate programs and rate designs that facilitate employee daytime charging in Palo Alto and promote public and workplace charging by commuters and visitors at lower rates than overnight charging in nearby electric service territories.
Action 2: Promote, facilitate, or require load management for large concentrations of electric vehicle charging Action 3: Explore opportunities for vehicle to home and grid integration in coordination with Reliability and Resiliency Strategic Plan implementation efforts.
Action 4: Ensure electrical capacity added to support electric transportation can support other priority technologies like building electrification, solar, storage, and similar technologies