The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) along with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), and GiddyUp EV, Inc., celebrated a new high-speed electric vehicle charging hub with a plug-in ceremony at the Power Inn light rail station today, June 22, 2021. The new charging hub is anticipated to go live in October 2021 and be one of the largest charging hubs in the state when built out.

This public-private partnership will deliver a state-of-the-art charging solution for Sacramento’s growing electric vehicle market, meet the region and state’s sustainability goals, and provide a revenue sharing model for SacRT. SMUD estimates nearly 1 million electric vehicles in the region by 2040. This project represents a trailblazing opportunity for SacRT to begin development of Mobility Hubs (places that bring together multiple transportation modes for seamless transportation options) at light rail stations to add amenities and e-mobility options for transit users and transit-oriented development. “With an innovative mindset focused on solutions to ease range anxiety for Californians making the switch to electric vehicles, this large-scale, first-in-the-nation public-private partnership is breaking ground in record time,” said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. “This is all possible because of the visionary partnership between SMUD, SacRT and GiddyUp EV. Our Governor’s Zero Emission Vehicle Acceleration Proposal in the California Comeback Plan focuses on equity and scale and is investing $3.2 billion over three years on clean transportation technologies across the state. This project is why California is leading the way in the race to install EV chargers and battery backups to help reach our goal of five million ZEVs on our roads by 2030 and 250,000 charging stations by 2025. This can, and will be, a national model.”

"The Power Inn Station charging hub is truly a groundbreaking , public-private-partnership that more than just advances environmental and economic goals of the region, it serves as an additional resource for our riders with first-and-last mile connectivity,” said SacRT General Manager/CEO Henry Li. “Throughout the pandemic, SacRT has continuously demonstrated the vital role public transit plays in our community, bringing healthcare professionals to the frontlines, delivering groceries and medicine to at-risk populations, and connecting essential workers to their places of work, underscoring the lifeline services and positive economic impact that SacRT provides to the Sacramento community. And, we are excited to welcome riders to our system with safe, convenient, and new services that improve the customer experience.”

The new charging station hub will be fully networked and integrated, and will only impact 55 of the 299 parking spaces located in the light rail station park-and-ride lot. The first phase includes 10 high-speed charging stations that can accommodate up to 20 vehicles, installation of solar canopies, Wi-Fi, and future battery storage for public/private use. Partnership negotiations are also underway for future connectivity to first and last mile solutions such as electric scooters and bikes.

With power supplied by SMUD, this high-speed and integrated charging network would advance electric vehicle adoption in the region, help meet environmental and economic goals of the State, while providing added services to various mobility users.

“I’m so proud of this project,” said SMUD Board Member Heidi Sanborn. “When we set our ambitious zero-carbon by 2030 goal, we knew that partnerships would be critical to reducing emissions and keeping costs down while attracting new investment in the region. We also committed to ensuring no community is left behind. This groundbreaking public-private partnership expedites making clean mobility available to all our customers and demonstrates how fast we can do it. It expands EV charging availability as well as provides solar energy and battery storage for our grid. It’s a win-win for our entire community.”

GiddyUp EV is financing the purchase and installation of the fastest DCFC/Level 3 chargers in the industry, which will have the ability to recharge light and medium vehicles simultaneously in minutes compared to hours-longer than a normal plug-in charger.

“Widespread adoption of electric vehicles isn’t going to happen and real progress on environmental equity in disadvantaged communities won’t be possible until EV charging is faster and more convenient than pumping gas. Public-private cooperation is the logical solution,” Giddy Up EV founder Chris Jerome said. “Public entities have the land, the private sector has the money and technology. This project shows the way forward.” Learn more about the project at www.sacrt.com/charginghub.