June 23, 2022 3:37 PM
As Santa Monica strikes ahead with its restoration, a spread of latest and increasing companies are opening in Santa Monica and shaping the City’s transportation sector, from cutting-edge mobility operators and supply fashions to an elevated presence of electrical autos and charging stations. The City of Santa Monica is a nationwide chief in sustainability, and helps the electrification of all mobility choices as a key approach to scale back carbon emissions.
The City continues to say itself as a middle for inexperienced innovation and is a thriving panorama for the testing and implementation of transportation and mobility applied sciences. Growth in these sectors additionally helps reaching city-wide sustainability targets akin to being carbon impartial by 2050 or sooner.
“The wave of new businesses across the mobility sector demonstrates Santa Monica’s continued commitment to developing innovative solutions that tackle today’s challenges,” stated the City’s EV Programs Coordinator Ariana Vito. “As a leader in sustainability, Santa Monica is a coveted location for companies to study the integration of new technologies with consumer demand.”
In addition to advancing native and nationwide emission discount targets, the combination of latest applied sciences inside Santa Monica’s transportation community additionally promotes financial restoration following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The range of mobility options we offer supports employees as they return to work,” stated Santa Monica’s Economic Development Manager Jennifer Taylor. “New delivery models ensure local companies stay relevant and competitive as demand for e-commerce and food delivery rises.”
The vary of firms with an added presence in Santa Monica embrace:
Mobility Operators
•Veo
Micro-mobility model, Veo, just lately introduced Santa Monica as the corporate’s west coast headquarters. Veo plans so as to add 300 new workers, the vast majority of whom will probably be employed domestically by the tip of 2022. Veo is one among 4 personal firms permitted to function a wide range of completely different mobility gadgets by means of March 30, 2023 as a part of the City of Santa Monica’s Shared Mobility Pilot Program. As a part of this system, the micro-mobility companies obtainable embrace Veo’s 2-wheeled standup e-scooters and Class 2 e-bikes.
•VanMoof
Acclaimed Dutch electrical bike producer VanMoof has added a showroom at 412 Broadway in Downtown Santa Monica. The firm’s industry-leading city e-bikes boast new know-how for enhanced efficiency options and anti-theft ensures.
•Leon Cycle USA
Founded in 2014, Leon Cycle is likely one of the largest Pedelec (Pedal Electric Cycle) and e-bike manufacturers in Europe. In March, the corporate opened a showroom at 2803 Main St. in Santa Monica.
Delivery Models
•URB-E
Last-mile and container-based supply agency, URB-E, launched service in Santa Monica as a part of the nation’s first Zero Emission Delivery Zone pilot program. The program supplies precedence curb area in a one-square mile check zone in Downtown Santa Monica and alongside Main Street to check the deployment, implementation and utilization of assorted sorts of light-duty zero emission transportation applied sciences. Ten URB-E e-bikes will service companies alongside Santa Monica Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard, with plans to develop the pilot to twenty URB-E autos in the close to future.
•Motional
Motional, the autonomous car enterprise between Hyundai Motor Group and know-how agency Aptiv, has partnered with Uber Eats to pilot autonomous deliveries for purchasers in Santa Monica. Motional’s all-electric IONIQ 5 autos, working autonomously below the supervision of two security drivers in every car, will be capable of conduct end-to-end meals deliveries. The pilot will serve to develop an automatic supply mannequin that would doubtlessly scale to extra areas throughout Los Angeles and in different cities.
•Coco
Remotely-piloted robotic supply service Coco companions with eating places and markets to make native deliveries inexpensive and sustainable. Fifty pound pink supply bots are outfitted with GPS monitoring and two-way microphones, managed by a distant human pilot. Since launching in Santa Monica amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the corporate has shortly expanded operations in neighborhoods all through town.
Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations
•VinFast
The electrical automotive firm is anticipated to open a showroom in Santa Monica Place in 2022, which will probably be one among solely three VinFast storefronts in California and the corporate’s first stores in the world outdoors of its headquarters in Vietnam.
•Tesla
Tesla opened an electrical car showroom in Santa Monica Place in 2020, which additionally homes a supercharging station. The firm just lately opened its second supercharging station in town at 1421 Santa Monica Boulevard with 26 V3 stalls obtainable. The second section of the venture, which started earlier this 12 months, is anticipated to convey the entire variety of charging stalls to 62, making it the biggest V3 supercharging station in the world. Tesla can also be increasing operations in Santa Monica with a brand new facility at eleventh and Colorado.
•City EV Infrastructure
The elevated presence of charging stations is a part of the City of Santa Monica’s Electric Vehicle Action Plan which was adopted in 2017 to give attention to increasing town’s public community of charging ports. There are at present over 150 public charging stations, together with commonplace degree 2, solar-powered, and quick charging stations situated in metropolis parking services, parks, and curbside areas. An extra 24 EVgo quick chargers will open this 12 months and over 20 chargers are pending by means of the Southern California Edison Charge Ready program.
These firms are becoming a member of a formidable roster of acclaimed sustainability companies working in Santa Monica, together with 11 licensed B companies and 70 Green Certified Businesses demonstrating excessive social and environmental efficiency. This 12 months, eight companies have been acknowledged by the Santa Monica Sustainable Quality Awards for important achievements in sustainable financial growth, social duty and stewardship of the pure atmosphere.
For a whole roundup of the companies opening all through Santa Monica, click on right here. For extra data associated to the City of Santa Monica’s sustainability efforts, go to santamonica.gov.
Media Contact
Miranda Iglesias
Public Information Coordinator
Miranda.Iglesias@SMGOV.NET
Categories
Getting Around, Mobility Projects, Sustainability and the Environment
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EV Charger Photo