Morgan Hayward
Former Director, Destination: Zero Carbon, Environment America Research & Policy Center
State Street turns into Electric Avenue, as advocates celebrate New Jersey Senate Environment Committee passing bill to electrify transportation
Media Contacts
New Jersey takes a big step towards transportation of the future, powered by clean energy
Environment America
Today, electric cars, buses and trucks blocked off West State Street outside the New Jersey State House, turning it into “Electric Avenue.” Elected officials, advocates and Trenton residents gathered there to celebrate clean transportation and test drive electric vehicles. Earlier in the morning, the state Senate Environment Committee passed S2252, a bill that would make the state a national leader in clean, electric transportation. Transportation is now the number one source of global warming pollution in the United States, and accounted for 42 percent of New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2015.
S2252 lays out a path toward electrifying transportation across the state and codifies the state’s Clean Car mandate of putting 330,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2025.
The bill would address the lack of charging infrastructure by installing more than 1,000 EV charging stations over the next two years in our downtowns and along high-traffic roadways. It also would create stronger cash incentives for EV buyers and electrify the entire NJ TRANSIT bus fleet by 2035.
Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, issued the following statement:
“The clean, electric vehicles that will be the norm in the future are already here. Why are we relying on gas-guzzlers that pollute our air, cause global warming and make us and our loved ones sick when we have better options? We can transition our cars and buses — even our garbage trucks — to cleaner electric models. We have no excuses not to.
“While the Trump administration is going the wrong way on clean cars and working to dismantle the federal Clean Car Standards, New Jersey can set a new pace. S2252 has the potential to pave the way for a transportation system that creates a safe climate and clean air for all.”