Watsonville to launch bilingual $4-an-hour electric car-sharing pilot project to boost EV adoption

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Watsonville residents could soon expect to be able to drive an electric car without purchasing one, after the city council approved a new agreement to bring a low-cost and bilingual electric car-sharing service to the city. 

The two-year partnership is with San Joaquin Valley-based nonprofit Míocar to bring an electric car-sharing program to Watsonville. The program is part of ¡Adelante Watsonville!, a project led by nonprofit Ecology Action in partnership with the city and other community organizations that aims to increase access to transportation and promote options that reduce carbon emissions. 

Míocar could be the first step for many Watsonville residents to consider switching to an electric car, said Alberto Rodriguez-Pepe, operations manager for the nonprofit car-sharing company. California is aiming to have 5.2 million electric cars in use by 2030, and 11.4 million by 2035. Vehicle registration data from 2022 released by the California Energy Commission showed Watsonville and southern Santa Cruz County lagging behind other regions of the county when it came to electric vehicle adoption, with EVs representing fewer than 1% of vehicles registered that year, compared to as much as 4.3% in Scotts Valley. 

Electric vehicles are still difficult to get used to, said Toto Vu-Duc, environmental projects manager for the City of Watsonville. But she believes this program could encourage more people to adopt them by allowing residents to test-drive the cars and figure out if electric vehicles are the right fit for them. 

“The focus was always to bring affordable and clean transportation to everyone,” said Míocar’s Rodriguez-Pepe. The nonprofit, launched in 2019, aims to “fill transportation gaps” in rural and small communities like Watsonville, he said. The organization also offers its program in Richmond, Stockton, Escalon and in various communities within Tulare County. 

Míocar plans to provide eight Hyundai Ioniq 5s across three charging sites in Watsonville — two on Main Street and one on Aviation Way, said Rodriguez-Pepe. The charging stations already exist. They are owned by the city, said Vu-Duc, and compatible with the charging port for the type of car Míocar will use in its fleet. 

Those sites were chosen based on access and availability, as Míocar’s service is 24/7, Vu-Duc said. During the process of choosing which stations for the program, the city discovered that its publicly owned charging sites were among the least used in the city. 

Míocar plans to begin testing its car-sharing service at the end of summer to see how the program will fit into the community and get feedback from users on how it can improve its services, Rodriguez-Pepe said. 

He said there’s already a list of at least 20 residents who’ve expressed interest in using Míocar’s services. Only two cars will be available during the testing period, and residents participating at that stage won’t have to pay to use them, he said. The program’s official launch is slated for the end of the year. 

The program is funded by a $7.2 million grant from the California Air Resources Board, which is set to expire in 2027. The pilot program is “just a bite” of what’s to come from the ¡Adelante Watsonville! project, which also plans to expand e-bike-sharing services with bilingual support and education services, Vu-Duc told Lookout.   

Míocar rents out its electric cars for $4 an hour or $35 for a day. Every reservation would include 150 miles. If a driver exceeds that mileage, they will be charged an extra 35 cents an hour, Rodriguez-Pepe. The rental fees were suggested by community members in Tulare County when the nonprofit was in its early stages of development.

The hourly rate makes this mode of transportation more accessible, said Vu-Duc: “Maybe you’re at the point where you can’t afford a car, so you rely on public transport or your bike or your active transport mode, but occasionally in your life, you need a car, right?” 

The car-share service is 24/7, said Rodriguez-Pepe, and users will have access to 24-hour bilingual customer service. 

There’s no extra liability required to rent one of the cars, like car insurance, said Vu-Duc. “But, you are able to take advantage of more experiences that are only accessible by car,” she said. 

Drivers have to be at least 21 years old with a valid driver’s license to register for a membership with Míocar, Rodriguez-Pepe said. The nonprofit also checks if a potential user has a relatively clean driving record and a valid credit, debit or prepaid card. 

It’s not just about getting to drive the vehicles, there’s an educational component involved when residents sign up for a membership, said Rodriguez-Pepe. “These days, we are more used to them, but I remember in 2019 people were a little bit afraid of electric vehicles. Were they safe? Or what about range anxiety? Or how is the day-to-day life with an electric vehicle?” he said.  

Before renting an electric vehicle with Míocar, users are required to take an orientation course — which is a 15- or 20-minute phone call or Zoom meeting — to learn the basics of the car model, how to reserve a car and where to charge them, he said. 

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