Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund

As part of the ongoing work of the Transportation Electrification Partnership, and LACI’s efforts to create an inclusive, green economy, LACI is launching four zero emissions pilots in the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles.

Thank you to all of the communities that submitted an application. The four selected communities are Pacoima, San Pedro, Long Beach, and Leimert Park.

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Why the Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund?

Zero emission mobility pilot projects and demonstrations will help bring the benefits of the green economy to neighborhoods who often lack the solutions required for emissions-free mobility, yet are burdened with poor air quality from various sources. The path to a zero emissions future includes addressing community needs as well as key technology, business model and educational challenges. Pilot projects will be deployed with and within selected communities defined by the state as “disadvantaged communities”. Lessons from these projects will be shared and used to inform new projects and policy recommendations.

Long Beach

In partnership with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach (CCLB) and LACI portfolio company, URB-E, LACI launched a zero emission e-cargo bike pilot.  Conservation Corps’ at-risk young adults in the workforce development program use the URB-E vehicles and trailers for projects along the Lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach. 

Pilot partners:

  • URB-E bikes are foldable electric bikes with detachable foldable trailers – providing flexible cargo capacity that can be stored in a small footprint.
  • Founded in 1987, CCLB annually employs and trains more than 200 corps members from the greater Long Beach area. 
  • CCLB projects include activities such as removing invasive vegetation, planting trees, collecting litter, and soon to be, promoting safety along the Lower Los Angeles River as river ambassadors.

Pilot goals:

  • As an alternative to diesel-powered utility-terrain vehicles (UTVs), the e-bikes with cargo capacity will reduce GHG and criteria air pollutants. The pilot measures the distance travelled each day to quantify the amount of GHG emissions offset by using zero emissions transportation. The e-bikes are charged by an off-grid solar PV and battery system.
  • The feasibility of offgrid charging. The URB-E bikes are charged in a recycled shipping container outfitted with rooftop solar and battery storage, proving that a charging mobility hub can be modular infrastructure.  Finding ways to more sustainably and more cost-effectively charge micro-mobility devices, whether e-bikes or scooters, is a focus of nearly every player and investor in the micro-mobility space.
  • The at-risk youth are encouraged to pursue green jobs and they will work with LACI and the Conservation Corps of Long Beach on training and green job opportunities.

Pacoima

The city of Pacoima is a predominantly working class community with high levels of underemployment that is challenged by the lack of accessible transportation options that connect to job centers in the Central City. To address the lack of transportation options, LACI along with Pacoima Beautiful, a local environmental justice nonprofit, launched a community-facing on-demand shared electric vehicles (EVs) with LACI’s portfolio company Envoy.

Pilot Partners:

  • Founded in 1996, Pacoima Beautiful is the only environmental justice organization in the Northeast San Fernando Valley striving for cleaner and safer communities.
  • Envoy provides electric vehicle car shares for roundtrip transportation to resident’s key essential activities such as trips to the grocery, doctor, bank, and work.
  • Envoy electric vehicles are quick and easy to reserve and each vehicle has a dedicated parking space and charger.

Pilot Goals:

  • Increase accessibility to transportation and specifically zero emission transportation. 
  • Provide affordable alternative option to vehicle ownership reducing internal combustion engine vehicle purchases.
  • EV car share program sustainability via revenue share between Envoy and the community partner.
  • Inclusive access to program with marketing material translated into the community’s primary language.

San Pedro

LACI, along with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), built an EV car share pilot with LACI’s portfolio company, Envoy, for HACLA Rancho San Pedro residents. The geographic location of Rancho San Pedro and infrequent public transit makes it difficult for residents to connect to the City of Los Angeles and neighboring communities. The EV car share provides a zero emission transportation option to the community that has already culturally accepted concepts of carpooling and car-sharing informally. 

Pilot Partners:

  • HACLA was established in 1938 and has grown to become one of the nations’ largest and leading public housing authorities.
  • Rancho San Pedro has over 470 units and is situated on a 21-acre site across from the Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro award-winning Battleship USS Iowa museum. 
  • Envoy provides electric vehicle car shares for roundtrip transportation to resident’s key essential activities such as trips to the grocery, doctor, bank, and work.
  • Envoy electric vehicles are quick and easy to reserve and each vehicle has a dedicated parking space and charger.

Pilot Goals:

  • Prove replicable and sustainable program model with dynamic membership rates plans that identify market price points for EV car share adoption and operational break-even. 
  • Accessibility and inclusiveness addressed with alternative payment options for the unbanked population.
  • Insights into most effective community outreach methods compared across EV car share pilots.

Leimert Park

It is a moment of great opportunity for Leimert Park with the Destination Crenshaw groundbreaking in celebration of local art and culture as well as Leimert Park Village 20 / 20 Village Initiative bringing infrastructure and transit oriented development to the community. LACI, in partnership with a consortium of community partners, launched e-bike rentals and neighborhood electric vehicle shuttles with startups, Zoomo and Circuit, respectively. The pilot seeks to increase access to not only clean and affordable transportation but also benefits of the green economy through workforce development and job creation.

Pilot Partners:

  • The community partners include SankofaCity, We Love Leimert, Community for Economic Development Corporation / Institute for Maximum Human Potential, and KAOS Networks who are lead community outreach and education strategy. 
  • Additional partners are local businesses, Ride On! Bike Shop / Co-op and South LA Cafe, both activists and community organizers as well as LACI’s Founders Business Accelerator participants.

Pilot Goals:

  • Workforce development through e-bike mechanic training, local shuttle driver hiring, and opportunity for increased delivery revenue.
  • First / last mile transportation for local errands as well as connection to metro for access to the greater LA region. 
  • Local business growth both from increased foot traffic and greater delivery throughput.

Huntington Park

LACI, in partnership with Southern California Edison, a Transportation Electrification Partner, and Huntington Park-based Communities for a Better Environment will use a novel construction and interconnection process for EV charger deployment by using pre-existing infrastructure. This novel process will be paired with EV charger technology that works for the community (via co-benefits such as tourism, wayfinding in city center, etc.) to create a model that will accelerate the expansion of curbside EV chargers.

Pilot Partners:

  • Southern California Edison (SCE) is a public utility committed to safe clean energy.
  • The SCE Charge Ready program has completed infrastructure at 90 sites that supports roughly 1,500 charge ports (reporting Q1 2020).
  • Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), founded in 1978, is one of the preeminent environmental justice organizations in the nation.
  • CBE’s mission is to build people’s power in California communities of color and low income communities – the organization’s youth and adult members meet weekly and are actively involved in scoping the pilot. 

Pilot Goals:

  • Leverage curbside charging to spur EV adoption in multi-family affordable housing complexes. 
  • Study EV purchase behavior change with public charging availability.
  • Deliver repeatable method for quickly and cost effectively installing curbside EV fast charging utilizing existing utility electrical and mounting infrastructure.

Due to COVID-19 impacts, the launch has been delayed.

Transportation Electrification Partnership

In California and greater Los Angeles, the transportation and goods movement sectors are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution. That’s why the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) was created to accelerate progress to a zero emissions future and cultivate an unprecedented collaboration with local government, key regulators, utilities, industry and others to reduce GHG emissions and improve regional air quality. The Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund is part of LACI’s Transportation Electrification Partnership and represents the on-the-ground, community impact of this important work.

FUNDING AMOUNT AND SOURCES:

Funding is made possible by a grant to LACI from the California Workforce Development Board along with the Transportation Electrification Partnership. As part of this grant, LACI will be able to dedicate more than $400,000 for zero emission mobility pilots (hardware, software, permits, signage, etc.) in the selected communities in Los Angeles County. In addition, LACI’s corporate partners will provide in-kind donations of goods or services.

About LACI

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a private nonprofit organization, is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation (working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies), transforming markets (through partnerships in transportation, energy and sustainable cities) and enhancing communities (through workforce development, pilots and other programs). Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. In the past seven years, LACI has helped 78 portfolio companies raise $221M in funding, $220M in revenue, create 1,750 jobs, and deliver more than $393M in long term economic value. Learn more at laci.org

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