As National Drive Electric Week (NDEW) comes to an end, the Electric Vehicle Association of San Diego (EVSD) wants San Diegans to know they are a resource for those who are thinking about making the switch to an electric vehicle (EV).
The EVSD was one of the earliest organizations in the area to advocate for, and educate about, electric vehicles. The group consists of volunteers who love talking about their EVs.
"We love spreading the word that, for example, according to the American Lung Association, we could save tens of billions of dollars in reduced health care costs by 2050 if more people would switch to driving electric,” said EVSD President Elaine Borseth.
According to Borseth, five years ago, the group had just a handful of members; they now have more than 800 EV enthusiasts. Reflective of the growing interest in EVs, the EVSD participated in about 50 outreach events last year, their highest number to date. And, this year, even with the COVID-19 pandemic, they are busier than ever. They have adjusted by holding their monthly meetings online.
"Our meetings include informative speakers such as a representative from SDG&E letting us know about public charging stations and the EV credit, and road trippers talking about road trips with a family (including a one-year-old) in their Tesla Model Y,” said Borseth. “We heard from a sound engineer who travels full time in his Tesla Model 3 and has put 135k miles on his car in just two years, a family who made a ski trip in their Chevy Bolt. I've even shared my experiences of driving cross country three times in my Tesla Model S, to locations including the Florida Keys, upstate NY, Acadia, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks.”
The EVSD also performs virtual test drives and reviews of several different EVs, most recently the Hyundai Kona. This month (Wed., October 14 at 6 p.m.), they will do a virtual test drive of the Porsche Taycan®.
In addition to social and informative gatherings, EVSD offers numerous resources to the community, such as information about high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane stickers, electricity rates in San Diego and best practices for charging EVs, information about federal tax credits, rebates, and grants for EV buyers, an EV savings calculator and of course, fun facts and news from the EV world.
Interested in joining? You must first become a member of the group's national organization, the Electric Auto Association, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating electric vehicles' adoption. The Electric Auto Association now offers free student memberships for students age 18 and under. Young adult memberships are just $15/year, and regular memberships start at just $35/year (SanDiegoEV.org).
"There is strength in numbers," Borseth said, "and joining the Electric Vehicle Association of San Diego is an excellent way of getting involved."
Meetings take place on the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. on Zoom. If you would like to join the EVSD email list, contact Elaine@SanDiegoEV.org.