The City of Los Angeles won the E-Visionary Award from the World Electric Vehicle Association for its "strong support of clean, efficient and sustainable modes of transportation, and for making electric drive a reality in the everyday lives of their citizens."
LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa accepted the award at the 26th International Electric Vehicle Symposium which took place there.
As of January 1, 2011, all single-family residences, multi-family dwellings, and commercial properties built in the City have EV-specific requirements. LA's Department of Building and Safety developed and implemented EV-ready building codes for all new construction in Los Angeles.
Other initiatives include:
- upgrading over 100 charging stations to provide faster charging to area EV drivers.
- The LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the largest municipal utility in the country, offers electric car customers rebates of up to $2,000 on home charging systems and has time-of-use prices for charging electric cars during off-peak hours. Their toll-free number gives people information about electric vehicles and charging.
LA offers a two and a half cent per kilowatt-hour discount for off-peak hour charging.
- Since January, 2011, Los Angeles and Shanghai are Partner Cities, sharing best practices from their respective EV demonstration programs.
- In In February, 2012, LA's Transportation Authority (Metro) released a request for proposals (RFP) for up to 30 Super Low Emission Buses and/or Zero Emission Buses as part of a pilot program to evaluate technologies for the City's bus fleet.
- LADWP and the City have established the Los Angeles CleanTech Incubator, fostering emerging EV startups such as 350Green, Gridtest Systems, CA Lithium Battery, and DB New Energy.
