# Remembering NY’s TH!NK City Pilot : Lessons for EV Programs

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2006/03/the-suburbs-unplugged-nypathink-clean-commute-program-ny-times/
- Published: 2006-03-23T00:46:00-05:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

## The Suburbs, Unplugged (NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program) – NY Times

As former [project manager](http://www.nypa.gov) for the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute
program, I dedicated countless hours to ensuring the efficiency and sustainability
of this initiative and working with communities that were willing to try something
different. Administered by the NY Power Authority, the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute 
program, which aimed to reduce carbon emissions and promote cleaner transportation
options, was a beacon of hope for environmentally conscious individuals and organizations
within New York who understood that transportation had to change. The program successfully
implemented various strategies to encourage commuters to opt for greener alternatives,
such as carpooling and the use of electric vehicles, and it helped prove in real-
world conditions that an electric car could be a practical second car for everyday
suburban life—especially for those commuting to Metro-North and Long Island Rail
Road stations.

Yes, it eats me up every day, especially about the loss of the NYPA/THINK Clean 
Commute program. As I reflect on the positive impact we had on our community and
the significant strides we made toward a more sustainable future, I am reminded 
that the work we did was not just a job; it was a passion that I carried with pride
and a belief that public agencies and automakers could work together to move the
market. Through outreach, commuter education, and the daily visibility of these 
small electric cars at stations and in neighborhoods, the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute
program showed people—many for the first time—that a full-time, plug-in electric
vehicle was not science fiction. The absence of these initiatives weighs heavily
on my heart, especially knowing how much potential there was for continued growth
and improvement if the partners had stayed the course.

## Seeing an article like this when you know you did good work on the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program even hurts more.

What can [I](https://greenlivingguy.com/2005/05/welcome-to-the-green-living-guy-blog/)
say, we were really ready to go to 500 cars, but Ford bagged out. Behind that simple
statement were years of planning, modeling commuter patterns, lining up charging
infrastructure at key stations, and building the administrative systems to support
a larger fleet under the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program. We weren’t talking about
a theoretical transition—we had real drivers, real chargers, and real data showing
that if the vehicles were made available, people were willing to plug in and drive
electric every day.

Great program, lasting effects for those that participated. Now, no TH!NK in sight.
Hopefully we can convince people (like I am trying to do and sell) full-performance
electric conversion cars. The reason why I am doing this is b/c I do not believe
the car companies will step up with another EV for a longtime, so why wait for something
that will not happen. For many of us who lived through the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute
program from the inside, the lesson was that technology was not the real barrier—
commitment was. The chargers at stations, the practical commuting ranges, and the
enthusiastic drivers all pointed in one direction: if we keep creating these opportunities,
electric transportation becomes normal. When industry pulled back, some of us shifted
to conversions and advocacy because we had already seen how powerful even a modest-
sized, local EV effort could be in changing minds and habits.

![New York Power Authority electric car from the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program
in New York; the program ended, the article reflects on its positive impact, the
planned 500-car expansion, and the lasting effects for participants, including hopes
for full-performance electric conversion cars.](https://i0.wp.com/greenlivingguy.
com/wp-content/uploads/2006/03/2E73D991-B8E8-4B69-BE8C-AAF77D27E8F5.png?resize=139%
2C300&quality=50&ssl=1)

March 19, 2006
Op-Ed ContributorThe Suburbs, UnpluggedBy KENNETH BANDLER New York
Times

## White Plains

WHEN my family and I moved to Westchester five and a half years ago from New York
City, I resisted purchasing a second car. But I soon discovered that the lack of
sidewalks made walking between home and the train station too risky and sharing 
one car was a logistical challenge. It seemed inevitable that we would succumb to
the two-car suburban lifestyle, the very pattern the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program
later tried to reimagine by substituting cleaner, more efficient vehicles for at
least one of those cars.

But then, great news arrived by way of the New York Power Authority. In the summer
of 2002, the power authority extended its pilot electric car program—what many of
us came to know as part of the broader NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program—to the North
White Plains train station from where I commuted into the city. I was the first 
to sign up to lease an electric car, which meant not only getting a convenient way
to reach the train but also participating in what felt like an experiment in the
future of transportation. The Think City, manufactured by Ford, became our second-
car solution and, more importantly, a daily demonstration that a small, plug-in 
car could handle the short trips that define so much of suburban driving.

The two-passenger TH!NK pilot car was perfect for driving from home to the train
station, then to the supermarket, the cinema, my daughter’s school and other local
destinations, essentially without using any gas or emitting pollutants. It could
go as far as 50 miles on a fully charged battery, which took four to six hours to
refresh while parked and plugged in at the train station during the day or in my
garage overnight. In the context of the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program, that range
was tailored to the real-world needs of commuters: short, routine trips clustered
around the rail hub, with the reassurance that the car was charging while its owner
rode the train into the city.

Of course, driving a totally electric vehicle required some adjustments.  Two days
after picking up the car, I embarked with my 8-year-old daughter on a Saturday morning
drive, all to buy bagels in downtown White Plains. Like many early participants 
in the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program, I had to learn to think differently about
energy use—watching the gauges, planning routes with terrain in mind, and accepting
that a car could be quiet, compact, and efficient yet still meet the needs of everyday
family life.

Everyone was staring and asking questions about our strange-looking, tiny vehicle.
Moreover, I was delighted to explain. After all, I was a transportation pioneer,
therefore part of a technological revolution. On the way home, however, the fuel
needle dropped more rapidly than an electric car novice could possibly have anticipated,
and the car abruptly came to a halt. Experiences like this—part curiosity, part 
trial by error—were common for drivers in the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program and
became informal teachable moments about range, charging, and the simple reality 
that driving habits have a direct impact on energy consumption.

Fortunately, the power authority program allowed four free tows a year. I quickly
learned from the tow truck driver that everything affects the car’s battery—for 
example, hills, air-conditioning, radio and how fast one drives—making the 50-mile
limit a little less predictable. That kind of feedback loop, where real-world use
generated lessons that we could share with other participants and program staff,
was at the heart of how the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program helped build early 
expertise around electric vehicle ownership long before EVs became a mainstream 
topic.

But I got good at estimating the car’s capacity. I could comfortably drive on the
Bronx River Parkway south to Scarsdale. Also, I could then journey north to a restaurant
in Thornwood or a movie theater in Hawthorne. While I was anxious to press the envelope,
I realized that driving over the Whitestone Bridge into Queens and back was too 
risky, even though the round-trip distance was less than the range for a fully charged
car. Pilot Program Deals

_**Sadly, the pilot program—part of the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program—came to
an end a little over a year ago. For the nearly 100 participants, who commuted on
Metro-North Railroad from Brewster North (now Southeast), Chappaqua, North White
Plains and White Plains and on the Long Island Rail Road from Hicksville and Huntington,
the program was a success. At $199 a month, the lease was a bargain. The power authority
provided free charging at the train station, $21 a month in transit checks for the
train ticket and $40 a month to help cover insurance. Beyond the financial incentives,
the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program offered something less tangible but just as
important: the satisfaction of knowing that every quiet trip to and from the station
replaced what would otherwise have been another gallon of gas burned and more exhaust
pumped into suburban air.**_

## A number of us had hoped a way would be found to allow continued use of the Think beyond the pilot program period, but unfortunately the car, which was built in Norway, was permitted into the United States only for the program. That technical and regulatory limitation became one of several factors that constrained the long-term expansion of the NYPA/THINK Clean Commute program, even as local drivers and communities were growing more comfortable with the idea of plug-in commuting.

Without a passenger airbag, the car did not meet automobile standards in the United
States. The power authority maintains that it was ready to expand the program to
more than 300 cars using a new American-style Think, but Ford apparently abandoned
that project. For those of us who had experienced the benefits of the NYPA/THINK
Clean Commute program firsthand, this decision felt like a missed opportunity, cutting
short a partnership that had the potential to keep proving, year after year, that
electric vehicles could anchor a cleaner suburban transportation model.

I reluctantly turned in my Think car in December 2004. While there are other electric
vehicles, like the open-air Daimler Chrysler Gem that is driven by police officers
inside Grand Central Terminal, I haven’t been able to find a closed electric car
for passenger use. A power authority official told me recently that they are still
looking for an auto manufacturer partner that can build and support an electric 
vehicle. That ongoing search underscores the central lesson of the NYPA/THINK Clean
Commute program: when public agencies, utilities, and automakers pull in the same
direction, it is possible to reshape commuting patterns, but when even one key player
walks away, entire fleets disappear and promising infrastructure is left stranded.

Local shopkeepers and even my S.U.V.-driving neighbors still ask what happened to
my little electric car. Meanwhile, my wife and I have become a two-car suburban 
family and the eight electric chargers at North White Plains and dozens more at 
several other suburban train stations sit idle, thereby symbols of our nation’s 
failing energy policy. And that’s a real shame. Looking back, the NYPA/THINK Clean
Commute program offered a glimpse of how quickly behavior can shift when clean options
are convenient, visible, and affordable; looking forward, it serves as a reminder
that the ideas were sound, the drivers were willing, and that it is policy choices—
not public interest—that determine whether those chargers light up again.

### _**Kenneth Bandler is the director of communications for the American Jewish Committee.**_