Change is never easy — an axiom that describes San Antonio’s slow transition from gas burning vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs). The City of San Antonio, VIA Metropolitan Transit, CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System all have conversion programs underway, but the shift toward electric vehicles has been incremental at best since City Council adopted the San Antonio Climate Ready plan in 2019.
It’s proven far easier to convert fleet vehicles to hybrid models. Significant barriers still exist to EV conversion: Municipal buildings require more electric power; charging stations are still too few and far between; scarce availability of light- and heavy-duty EV trucks; electric vehicles are still far more expensive than the alternatives.
San Antonio consumers also have been slow to make the switch. EVs accounted for only 3.4% of new vehicle registrations in San Antonio in 2022, up from 2.5% in 2021, according to an April article by Axios San Antonio. The article noted that San Antonio had the lowest conversion rate of any of the 28 cities where Axios operates. The article reported that for the same time period, the conversion rate in Seattle grew from 8.4% to 17.2% and in Portland from 5.5% to 13.1%. Austin’s conversion rate grew from 7% to 9.3%.
The pace of conversion matters as San Antonio grapples with climate change, rising temperatures and more extreme weather events. Vehicles account for about 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions in San Antonio, according to the city’s climate action plan, which calls for zero carbon emissions by 2050. The plan, however, does not set annual benchmarks for achieving that goal.
For San Antonio’s public sector, the conversion will require EV purchases of thousands of automobiles, trucks and SUVs and hundreds of passenger buses.
The City of San Antonio has the largest fleet by far, currently 5,796 automobiles, motorcycles, vans, trucks, all-terrain vehicles, trailers, forklifts and boats. Roughly 800 of those vehicles are police cruisers. Of the city’s 665 administrative sedans, 571 are hybrid and 28 are all-electric. The city has set a goal of converting 20% of the hybrid fleet to all-electric by fiscal year 2025.
SAWS is adding 13 electric vehicles to its fleets as a first step. That includes six Chevrolet Bolts used by staff members conducting irrigation consultations, two Ford E-Transit vans to support leak investigators in the field and five Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks expected in 2024.
CPS Energy, which relies more heavily on trucks, has purchased both hybrid and EV models and provides ratepayers with incentives to install EV charging stations in homes and benefit from lower electricity costs for overnight charging.
VIA currently has eight electric buses in its fleet of 511 buses. It completed a significant fleet conversion in 2020 when most of its diesel buses were replaced with compressed natural gas-fueled buses, which emit 97% less carbon dioxide, according to VIA Metropolitan Transit CEO Jeff Arndt. VIA will undertake a major fleet conversion to EV buses by the end of the decade.
At the current cost of $1 million per vehicle, that conversion will not be easy. A federal grant enabled VIA to purchase the eight electric buses and construct a charging and maintenance facility.
Studies show the same impediments for individual vehicle buyers, with price being the biggest roadblock. The average cost of the top 10 electric vehicle models for sale in the United States shot up to more than $61,000 this year, according to Find My Electric. The $7,500 EV rebate contained in the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022 is not enough to offset the higher cost of purchase for most vehicle buyers. Some of the more affordable EVs from Asian manufacturers do not qualify for the rebate.
A dearth of charging stations is another problem, here and in many other cities. My family recently accepted a Hertz promotion to rent a Tesla Model 3 while visiting friends in New Orleans. The vehicle was delivered at the airport without a fully charged battery, a concern since we had planned an excursion outside the city the following day. The hotel valet assured me he would take care of it overnight, but the next morning, the vehicle was only half-charged. The chief valet explained that the hotel actually did not have a charging station, contrary to what we were told at check-in.
We had just enough juice to make our excursion, but afterward we wanted to charge the battery to avoid a $25 fee from Hertz. We paid for six hours of slow charge at a nearby Hilton that brought the battery only up to 65%. We definitely experienced so-called range anxiety. Hertz waived the fee and gave us a coupon for our next EV rental.
Only a few years ago, prices of EVs were predicted to drop, and Tesla has cut its prices more than once. But inflation has prevented significant price declines. Until EVs come closer to the cost of gas-powered vehicles and the charging infrastructure is measurably expanded, the vast majority of drivers will stick with what they are driving today.
Vehicles will continue to be a leading source of emissions in San Antonio. The slow conversion to EVs will make it more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve the 2050 goal of carbon neutrality. Some readers might point out that buildings produce even more greenhouse gases than vehicles in San Antonio. They are right, but that’s a column for another day.
This article has been updated to correct the number of electric police cruisers.
CPS Energy is a financial supporter of the San Antonio Report. For a full list of business members, click here.
