Transportation Electrification in Vancouver
Cutting emissions from cars, trucks, and buses
On-road vehicles are Vancouver’s single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global climate change.
To change that, we envision a future where neighborhoods throughout Vancouver are walk- and rollable, public transit options are abundant, and zero-emissions vehicles are affordable, common, and easy to charge or fuel. Our efforts on transportation electrification today will pave the path for that future.
Project Overview
The City is working to help more people, nonprofits, and businesses take advantage of the benefits of electric mobility (e.g. electric buses, electric delivery trucks, e-scooters, EV carsharing, etc.) and prioritize where “transportation electrification” investments should go to create the greatest community benefit.
Shifting to cleaner electric motors can create direct community benefits, including:
- Cleaner air and quieter neighborhoods,
- Lower costs to fill up and maintain vehicles for small businesses and nonprofits that depend on cars or trucks to get their work done,
- Access to more options for getting around,
- New opportunities to train in green jobs, and
- Reduced local and global emissions causing climate change.
What is Transportation Electrification?
“Transportation electrification” describes efforts to replace fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel) in cars and trucks with cleaner electricity while expanding community options for getting around. Shifting from gasoline and diesel to lower-carbon fuels, like electricity, is one of the most impactful and immediate actions we can take toward our climate goals. But transportation electrification is about much more than just personal vehicles. When co-designed with community members, transportation electrification programs can help achieve a wide range of community priorities.
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy Development
To guide this work, staff are developing an Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Strategy with community input in 2025. One of the top barriers to electric vehicle adoption is the availability of charging, and Vancouver needs a critical mass of charging infrastructure to encourage more businesses and households to make the switch. This strategy will outline priorities for where and how EV chargers should be developed in Vancouver and actions for the City to help accelerate EV adoption in multiple sectors.
Public engagement for this strategy will begin in March and go through June 2025.
Community Transportation Electrification Cohort
The City is also partnering with Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition and Clark Public Utilities to bring together a cohort of community-based organizations starting in February 2025 to co-create a set of recommendations on transportation electrification opportunities for Vancouver to create the greatest community benefit.
This work is funded in part by the Washington Climate Commitment Act and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Learn more below and apply to be part of the cohort.
Cohort details
What will the cohort do?
Cohort members will have two primary responsibilities: (1) conduct community engagement activities as trusted liaisons within historically underrepresented communities, and (2) advise City of Vancouver and Clark Public Utilities on transportation electrification priorities and programs to create the greatest benefit for their communities.
Who should apply?
Representatives of community-based organizations that serve historically underrepresented communities. Cohort members are not required to have existing knowledge of transportation electrification, but they will ideally have some experience with environmental and/or economic justice issues and be interested in thinking creatively about how to harness investments in cleaner transportation systems to create tangible benefits for their communities. Cohort members must have capacity to commit to participating in all cohort activities as well as conducting community outreach in May-July 2025.
Benefits of participation
- 15 hours of cohort learning and capacity building in workshops with experts in electric mobility, local and state policy, and equitable transportation electrification strategies.
- Opportunity to co-create programs and policies with City staff to achieve equitable transportation electrification outcomes in Vancouver.
- Compensation for participation, advisory role, and community engagement activities (see details on compensation below).
- Field trip to 2025 Oregon International Auto Show.
- Networking and collaboration opportunities with City of Vancouver, Clark Public Utilities, Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition, and other regional partners.
Cohort expectations
- Participate in meetings and workshops to learn about transportation electrification from various subject matter experts and meaningfully contribute to discussions about community needs, priorities, and solutions to achieve equitable outcomes.
- Collectively identify goals and core questions for community engagement.
- Design individual community engagement plans based on community and organizational priorities to take place between May – July 2025. Meet with City staff to finalize and approve community engagement plans.
- Provide raw data and summary of key findings from community engagement activities and share insights in discussion as a cohort.
- Review and provide written feedback on community engagement reports, transportation electrification program concepts, and recommendations drafted by City staff based on cohort discussions.
- Time commitment: 6-10 hours most months; additional hours May-July for community engagement activities.
Cohort schedule
February 21 (Friday) | 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Cohort opening circle and field trip to 2025 Oregon International Auto Show
Deliverables:
- Participation in opening circle and field trip
March 3 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Workshop and discussion
March 17 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Workshop and discussion
Deliverables:
- Participation in workshops and discussions
April 7 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Workshop and discussion
April 21 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Workshop and discussion
Deliverables:
- Participation in workshops and discussions
- Written feedback on cohort community engagement goals and core questions (drafted by City staff based on cohort discussions)
May 5 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Workshop and discussion
Deliverables:
- Participation in workshop and discussion
- Individual community engagement plan developed
- Meeting(s) with City staff to finalize and approve engagement plan
June 2 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Virtual group check-in
Deliverables:
- Participation in group check-in
- Implementation of community engagement activities
July 7 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Workshop and discussion
July 21 (Monday) | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Workshop and discussion
Deliverables:
- List of community engagement key learnings (due July 3)
- Participation in workshops and discussions
- Written feedback on community engagement summary, transportation electrification program concepts and recommendations (drafted by City staff based on cohort discussions)
Compensation
Community-based organizations that cohort members are representing will be compensated between $4,000-7,000 for their participation in all cohort activities, implementation of community engagement plans, and meaningfully contributing to transportation electrification program concepts and recommendations. Contracts for Phase I will cover workshops and cohort activities from February – May and be a flat rate of $2,000 for outlined deliverables. Contracts for Phase II will vary between $2,000-$5,000 based on complexity and requirements of the individual community engagement plans developed by cohort members.
Application
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting January 30, 2025, and selected cohort members will be notified in February 2025. Applicants who serve historically underrepresented communities will be prioritized.
Please complete the following application to be considered for the cohort: Application for Community Transportation Electrification Cohort
Webinar Recording – January 16, 2025
Contact
For questions or additional information about the Community Transportation Electrification Cohort, please contact:
Katherine Stanton, Community Engagement, Katherine.stanton@cityofvancouver.us or 360-947-7726
Contact
For questions about the City’s transportation electrification efforts, contact:
- Laurel Priest, Transportation Planning, laurel.priest@cityofvancouver.us or 360-487-7941
- Stacey Dalgaard, Climate Program, stacey.dalgaard@cityofvancouver.us or 360-947-6503
Learn more about the City’s Climate Action Framework.