SmartColumbusCelebratesourEmployerPartners

Within the three-year electrification grant period, 3,323 electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in the Columbus region. Consumer likelihood to purchase an EV also grew by more than 20 percent, suggesting sustained growth to come.

“We are proud to deliver on the bold goal of this groundbreaking program, which has served to make our community more sustainable, our businesses more resilient, and our infrastructure more future-ready,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “As we look to our future, continued efforts to electrify mobility and decarbonize electricity will be critical to addressing the challenges we face, as they directly support resident health and wellness, and help to drive economic development and shared prosperity.” 

Much of this success was due to the regional business community leaning into ‘drive electric’ and ‘drive less’ goals outlined in the Acceleration Partner program. The program launched with 38 partners in late 2017 and has since grown to 70 organizations from diverse sectors including finance, consulting, healthcare, non-profits, higher education, insurance, consumer goods, restaurants, industry, energy, communications and technology.

“This success could not have been achieved without the vision and engagement of leaders from across Columbus’ public and private sectors,” said Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, which rallied many of its member organizations to join the program. “Of all the learnings Smart Columbus will share from this success, the most important will be the ‘The Columbus Way’ — our community’s unique model of public/private sector collaboration that enables us to do big things that benefit the prosperity of our residents and our region.”

Our flagship program, the Smart Columbus Ride & Drive Roadshow, facilitated 11,956 educational EV test drives at Acceleration Partner work sites and community events throughout the region. The program is believed to be the largest EV test drive program ever scaled over two years. All 70 of the Acceleration Partner companies held a Ride & Drive event, adding to the program’s overwhelming success.

Another driver of the program’s success was AEP Ohio’s $9.5 million incentive program designed to spur installation of public EV charging stations. The program’s mission is to help local governments, workplaces, apartment complexes and others install at least 300 Level 2 charging stations and 75 DC Fast Charging stations throughout AEP Ohio’s service territory. The increase in workplace charging is significant—in the last three years 88 percent of Acceleration Partners have installed EV chargers, 219 charging ports in total.

To encourage cities and organizations to adopt initiatives modeled after the Electrification Program, Smart Columbus launched SmartColumbusPlaybook.com, a digital program capstone that summarizes the more than 100 articles, case studies and success stories contained within Smart Columbus’ digital Playbook. The content provides advice and resources to help cities, businesses, academic institutions, nonprofits and other organizations replicate and scale programs proven in Columbus.

Commemorating the end of the $10 million grant from Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, a special section highlighting the efforts of our partners is featured in the June 2020 issue of Columbus CEO magazine. This 16-page insert demonstrates the investments that our regional partners made over the past three years, laying the foundation for more sustainable and equitable transportation in the future.

See the June 2020 Columbus CEO insert below.