In January 2020, we hit a major milestone: 1,000 public EV charging ports in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. Combined with tens of thousands of private home charging stations, the Central Coast is making big strides toward clean transportation. In fact, nearly 9% of new vehicle sales in our region over the last two years have been electric.

The expanded public charging infrastructure and longer ranges mean that all-electric cars work for longer drives as well as around town driving.

Our family made the switch to electric vehicles and love the cost-savings and convenience of never having to go to a gas station or get an oil change. It was even better to install home solar and know we were running our cars on sunshine.

You can help "drive" this shift too - and its more affordable than ever!

• There are over 40 different models of EVs available today, and rebates of $2,000 to $7,000 can make them even more affordable than comparable gas cars.
• Used EVs can now be purchased for as little as $5,000, and SCE offers an additional rebate for new or used cars of $1,000.
• Low- to moderate-income Californians (under $100,400 for a family of 4) can also qualify for a $5,000 grant toward a new or used EV.

You can see many available models and learn more at the Green Car Show during the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival, April 18-19 in Alameda Park.