‘Left us defenseless!’ cry drivers whose cars have disappeared – they did nothing wrong, but the vehicles are now in another city

A SMALL farming community received Teslas as part of a ride-sharing program that provided rides to vulnerable residents.

The program was suspended due to COVID fears and was never reinstated; now the community is left without transportation options.

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Residents of the isolated farming community of Cantua Creek in Central California were left without a reliable method of transportation to larger cities after a shared transportation program was removed from the community.

Before the Zev Valley Mobility Project funded a project that gifted the city with four EVs, residents had to rely on the good graces of their friends and neighbors to leave the city.

Due to the difficult financial situation of many residents, many well-meaning neighbors have to refuse to avoid missing work or being unable to pay for gas.

“If we want to buy groceries or other things, or do something else, we can’t go,” said Rosario Rodríguez The Sacramento Bee.

“There are people in the community who help us, who do us favors, but they don’t always have time to guide everyone.”

Sometimes people are forced to miss essential medical appointments, especially since larger cities like Fresno are an hour’s drive away.

In 2019, the Valley ZEV Mobility Project aimed to solve the transportation problem for underserved communities by providing the city with electric vehicles that people could drive.

The cost to passengers was about $5 to $10 per trip, depending on the distance.

The EVs came with a set of six chargers that the company installed.

It has produced promising results, with many residents praising the program for how much it has helped provide essential rides to residents.

“The drivers would be ready the next day, take you to the doctor and wait until the appointment was over to bring you back,” said resident Celia Nazarit de Franco.

“You could go about your business and not worry about the trip home. It was comfortable.”

The program was popular and used frequently, but was pulled from the city overnight when the pandemic inspired fear across the state.

The residents understood the intentions and waited.

However, four years later, the six chargers that used to charge the program’s two Teslas and two Chevy Bolts remain unused and broken, with no EVs to charge.

I don’t know what they do or how much help they can offer, but they leave. I don’t know if they forget about us or what because we’re not seeing any results.

Rosario Rodríguez

Now Cantua Creek residents have resorted to the old, unreliable methods: their equally busy and financially struggling neighbors.

“Overnight, our means of transportation disappeared,” Rodríguez said.

“We feel a lot of emotions at the same time because it has left us defenseless. If we get sick or have a doctor’s appointment, what will happen? What will we do?”

Julia Mendoza told the outlet that many of her neighbors are knocking on her door to ask for rides in her van and she is reluctant to refuse, despite the cost of refueling.

“Elderly members of the community came to my house asking for rides,” she said.

Finding an EV Charger

Finding a public charger for your electric vehicle doesn’t have to be difficult.

Many modern electric vehicles have their own manufacturer-specific connected services technology that can locate compatible chargers.

With more automakers gaining access to Tesla supercharging network with a NACS charging port, it can be even easier due to the vastness of the network.

According to an article by JD PowerAdditional ways to locate functional and available chargers can be obtained with Connect Americathe PlugShare app for iOS and Android or the Department of Energy’s Office of Alternative Fuels Data Center.

Electrify America It is EVgo provide the most accurate billing data, the site said, as they frequently update data over the air.

“Sometimes I woke up at 5 am to take [them] to eye surgeries so they could see. Last year I drove two women who had no means of transport, neither their parents nor their partners drove, and they were pregnant.”

Since the program was removed from their community, many residents remain hopeful that a similar program or nonprofit will fill the Valley ZEV Mobility Project’s shoes and utilize the chargers.

Others have taken a more proactive approach and contacted several transportation companies to see if it’s possible to extend bus lines from Fresno to Cantua Creek, with no luck so far.

“People from Sacramento have already come to our city and we’ve talked to them,” Rodríguez said.

“I don’t know what they do or how much help they can offer, but they leave. I don’t know if they forget about us or what, because we’re not seeing any results.”