REACH 2.0 Outreach Initiative

Goals

The goal of this project is to reduce transportation emissions by expanding charging locations accessible to multifamily housing residents. This portion of the larger effort is focused on outreach and marketing.

The outreach goal is to share clear information on electric vehicle (EV) ownership– including available models, incentives, and purchasing guidance. This will help low-income households overcome common barriers associated with adopting electric vehicles. Interns worked to identify multifamily housing residential properties within a ¼ mile of the electric vehicle charging stations being installed and make relationships with those properties to ensure renters are fully informed of the resource.

Interns will also help expand the number of landlords participating in the program. They are focused on ensuring as many charging stations as possible serve low income and disadvantaged communities.
 

The Equitable Charging Access for Renters in the 805 region (E-CAR 805) project is a collaborative effort taking place across three counties (San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura) to increase access to electric vehicle charging to disadvantaged communities and low-income residents in multifamily housing (MFH).  This project is a REACH 2.0 Project through the California Energy Commission. The project addresses issues related to transportation and works to reduce its emissions, address inequalities related to electric vehicle (EV) access, and make EV ownership possible for renters who have historically faced barriers to EV adoption. 

The plan is to install 379 charging ports across 70 sites between San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. A port is a single outlet that plugs directly into a vehicle, while a charging station typically contains two ports and can be located on a site, which refers to the property (housing complex parking lot, etc.) where the chargers and ports will be installed. Project interns are working with affordable housing providers, private landlords, government agencies, and schools that could implement the charging stations and bring charging access directly to where renters live. 

Interns compile comprehensive databases consisting of multi-family housing apartments throughout the tri-county region and scout potential locations where electric vehicle chargers can be installed. Currently, they are in the process of locating possible MFH properties, researching building management information, and communicating directly with property owners, managers and tenant groups to gather their insights on EV ownership and access. 

Interns also reach out to tenants and potential drivers to send out pre-tenant surveys that gather insight on people who are already driving electric vehicles, where they are charging them, how accessible individuals think electric vehicles are, their overall knowledge on them, and if lack of charging stations is preventing them from purchasing electric vehicles. Additional outreach efforts include tenant engagement in Isla Vista, door-to-door communication, and participation in community events, such as the 2025 Sustainability Car Showcase. 

This project builds upon years of ongoing work. Local community partners had already been working to expand electric vehicle charging access before this project began. Interns have continued that effort by revisiting previously identified feasible sites and further evaluating them for EV charging station installation.