HOURCAR is a nonprofit carshare organization making big transportation changes in the Twin Cities.
In 2022, HOURCAR began expanding its round-trip carshare service through the Multifamily Electric Vehicle Carshare Pilot Project. Leveraging funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and partnerships with Xcel Energy, the American Lung Association, and East Metro Strong, the pilot will add a total of 50 all-electric vehicles, nearly doubling the HOURCAR fleet. To do this, HOURCAR is placing new hubs with electric chargers at multifamily complexes around the Twin Cities metropolitan area, with a focus on affordable housing sites. The project aims to increase electric mobility options for residents at income levels that have been traditionally underserved while also decreasing barriers to building out electric vehicle charging stations at multifamily dwellings.
This is the first project of its kind in the State of Minnesota and one of the first of its size in North America, including 25 total properties with 50 shared electric vehicles.
I love having hourcar.org on my property! The tenants use it fairly regularly and it is part of our values to encourage sharing resources and reducing costs for tenants for their car needs. Hourcar is great to work with and very responsive to any issues. We encounter no problems with people outside of our organization using Hourcar on our property and we are proud to be good stewards of the planet by encouraging gas-free transportation.
Dale Howie, Owner, Greenrock Apartments
Do you want to provide electric HOURCAR vehicles and charging at one or several of your multi-dwelling units?
Here’s what you need to know:
We are seeking site hosts (owners, developers, or managers of residential real estate) interested in offering electric vehicle carsharing to residents at one or more of their properties at very low cost.
Each selected site will host:
Sites must be readily available for installation of EVSE and operation of the carsharing service. This means:
We’ve designed selection criteria to help the project meet its dual goals of:
We will prioritize affordable buildings that meet the requirements for the Low Income Rental Classification (LIRC) or Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) or where at least 66% of residential units are affordable at 60% Area Median Income (AMI) or below. Neighborhoods with an overall AMI at or below 100% will likely show a higher success in the pilot project and will be prioritized in scoring.
We want to compliment the transit network, so our selection criteria also prioritizes sites located in close proximity to high-frequency transit infrastructure.
We are looking for sites that will complement other HOURCAR services, including the EV Spot Network. We are currently prioritizing sites that are within or close to the Evie Carshare Home Area. Use our mapping tool or see the map below to see whether your building falls in our priority zone.
Applications are now open for the third and final round of the Multifamily Pilot, with construction anticipated to being in Q2 2025.
To participate in the HOURCAR Multifamily Electric Vehicle Carshare pilot, sites will also need to participate in Xcel Energy’s Multi-Dwelling Unit Electric Vehicle Service Pilot. Xcel Energy’s pilot provides funding to cover the installation and purchasing of charging equipment, while HOURCAR’s pilot provides an immediate use case for the charger that can serve to subsidize the initial charger or to provide a long-term transportation amenity for your residents.
Xcel Energy Multi-Dwelling Unit Electric Vehicle Service Pilot
To participate in the pilot, site hosts must agree to host at least one dual-port level 2 charger on site for a period of ten (10) years.
For qualified affordable Multi-Dwelling Units, Xcel Energy will undertake 100% of construction costs to bring power to the site, while sites that do not meet the program’s definition of affordability will need to pay for 50% of the construction costs. The cost of the Level 2 dual-port charger(s) itself will be amortized and billed monthly over the ten-year period; we anticipate this cost will be roughly $90 per month. Payments for the charger and the cost of electricity for charging will be borne by HOURCAR during the 18-month Multifamily Electric Vehicle Carshare Pilot. The charger will be used to charge HOURCAR electric vehicles for the Multifamily Electric Vehicle Carshare Pilot and will not be available for private charging. Site hosts can request additional dual-port chargers to be installed on site for use by residents who own electric vehicles. Any additional costs for the chargers not dedicated to the carsharing program will be borne by the site host.
HOURCAR Multifamily Electric Vehicle Carshare Pilot
HOURCAR’s Multifamily Electric Vehicle Carshare Pilot lasts for 18 months, with the possibility to extend the term of service by becoming a long-term HOURCAR hub.
During this pilot period, HOURCAR will place two shared electric vehicles on site at the dedicated charging spaces for use by residents and the surrounding community. During the initial 18-month period and any subsequent extensions, HOURCAR will pay the amortized cost of the dual-port charger and any electricity costs for charging the two shared electric vehicles. In order to use the carshare service, residents must sign up, meet HOURCAR’s membership requirements, and pay for use of the vehicles. HOURCAR has special rates available for low-income members and students.
Filling out the pre-approval application is the first step to become a site host for the Multifamily Electric Vehicle Carshare project. Pre-approved site hosts will be invited to participate in a preliminary assessment with Xcel Energy and evaluation from HOURCAR.
This pre-approval application allows each applicant to submit up to five proposed sites for consideration. Proposed sites may consist of a property or a group of properties within walking distance to one another. Properties can be made up of one or multiple buildings. Existing properties and developments under construction will be considered if they are scheduled to be open by Q2 2025.
After your application is submitted, we will contact you to confirm submission. We will invite selected sites on a rolling basis to begin the Xcel Energy and HOURCAR next steps.
Questions? HOURCAR staff will be available to assist you with any questions you may have as you work through the application. Please email [email protected] with any questions.
If you have any questions about pilot requirements, timelines, and/or funding, reach out to [email protected].
HOURCAR is focusing on gathering applications to increase density of hubs in the core HOURCAR service area. Explore our map below or open in a separate window to see where your site fits in our focus area. Sites located outside of the 2 mile radius will be considered but not prioritized in scoring.
