The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality District has just launched its “Our Community, Car-Share Program” in three public housing complexes (Alder Grove, Edge Water and Lemon Hill).  This will provide Sacramento residents in three public housing complexes with free access to electric vehicles.

Air Quality Engineer at the District, Steffani Charkiewicz explained that the enterprise was undertaken in order to “provide access to electric vehicles for these residents and to improve their quality of life. These vehicles will be available for short trips – a maximum of three hours at a time – and they’ll be able to go run errands, go to the grocery store, go to a doctor’s appointment, go to a job interview.”

Users will need to register if they want to take advantage of the two Kia Soul electric cars available in each neighborhood.  It is hoped that it will make it easier for residents who are having an increasingly difficult time getting around the city since buses are expensive and less reliable.

Starting as a pilot program for a year, it is funded by California Cap-and-Trade which is donating over a million dollars. Other funds are coming from other municipal agencies in Sacramento.