I have never been impresed with Mayor Parker

And this doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy.

City hoping to jump-start electric car usage

The Petro Metro is positioning itself as an early adopter of electric vehicles by seeding the city with charging stations for cars that don't need gasoline.



"Oil and gas is going to continue to be with us and incredibly important for the foreseeable future. But there is another future out there as well, and Houston's going to be prepared for that future," Mayor Annise Parker, a former oil and gas exploration company software analyst, told a gathering Thursday where the city debuted its first two electric-only cars.

City officials and entrepreneurs gathered in an H-E-B parking lot on Buffalo Speedway, where one of the new stations has been installed, to announce their coordinated efforts to roll out more than 250 stations across Houston by the end of the year.

Parker pitched what she calls Houston Drives Electric as a continuation of the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit that has characterized Houston from its origins. Parker said the city figures to save at least $7,000 per car in fuel and maintenance costs in the first three years of the 25-car electric-only fleet it will purchase by the end of the year.

7000 over three years. So in a 6 year life it will save us 14000. That's assuming the two thousand dollar battery doesn't die. And an electric motor never gave out. Also the price of a Chevy is around 42k. That's more than twice the cost of the Chevy Cruse, the Volt's gas big brother. And if the POS in this picture is a Volt it has a gas backup engine. So there is you clean maintenance. Real cost savings Anise.

200 stations to come

The city also has retro fitted 15 of its existing hybrid vehicles to charge off the stations. In addition, the city is installing 56 charging stations of its own - half in the City Hall parking garage to service the municipal fleet, and half for public use at libraries, Hermann Park, the Arboretum and other parks. The city stations are funded by state and federal grants.

OK, a city that is completely broke is gonna spend money on more electricity for these things, retraining it's mechanics, putting more cost on it's maintenance system for a vehicle very ill suited for the Houston area. This city is almost 600 square miles and my personal round trip commute is 64 miles. And that is typical. How will an electric car handle that?

San Francisco-based ECOtality will install 200 stations for public use this year, and NRG Energy's eVgo electric vehicle charging network will put 25 in Houston this year and 25 more next year.

San Francisco...why am I not surprised. And they will be pulled out with five years for lack of use.

More than 73,000 plug-in electric vehicles will travel Houston's streets by 2020, according to city projections.

Right....more like 73 and most will be owned by the city.

Thursday's announcement declares the first steps toward providing the infrastructure to support so many electric vehicles.

Tell me how many city gas stations were established with federal money early last century. Oh yea, none. The market for cars developed on it's own and the infrastructure for it (gas supply, maintenance, etc) works fine.

What a waste. The bad things is she will win reelection. Not because of accomplishments (or should I say in spite of) like this but because no one will run against her. Hopefully the damage of her reign of error can be limited.