Bay Area MTC hopes drivers will step into electric cars
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Is there an electric car in your future? Bay Area transportation officials are hoping so. They're staging events designed to get people plugged into the idea. ABC7 News takes a look at what it will cost you.
In the future, many of us maybe plugging in, not filling up our cars, but for now electric vehicles are a bit of a mystery. Even mechanics to work on them have questions.
"The cars are so new, we don't know what their longevity is going to be. It's all speculative," Carolyn Coquillette from Luscious Garage said.
Coquillette has opened her shop for this showcase of electric cars -- BMW, Cadillac, fiats to name a few.
The Bay Area Transportation Commission wants more people to experience electric to reduce emissions on the road.
"Your cost of operating are about one-fifth of those of a gasoline-powered vehicle," John Goodwin from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said.
Most of these electric cars cost about $10,000 more than the same gas powered model and have an average range of about 100 miles on a full charge.
Then it was my turn to drive an electric car for the first time. I thought it was hard to get over how quiet the car is, but I can't take my eye off the gauge that tells you how much battery life is left.
Charging the car may increase your power bill about 20 percent per month, unless you have solar like electric car owner Angelo Festo. He told ABC7 News, "My electric bill was $15 for the whole house and charging car every night."
If you want to check these cars out, they'll be on display this Saturday on the Marina Green in San Francisco.
Experience Electric - The Better Ride
San Francisco to Host First Free Electric-Vehicle Test Drive Event
