Small Central Valley Town Sets Big Example for Electric Vehicle Use

KQED's Forum

Ridesharing has long been a part of farmworker communities, before companies like Uber and Lyft came along. So when faced with a lack of transportation options in his small town of Huron in the Central Valley, Mayor Rey Leon took inspiration from farmworkers to launch the Green Raiteros -- a ridesharing program that provides free transportation to residents using a fleet of all electric vehicles. Most community members use the service for necessary medical appointments that are miles away. In addition to filling a community need, LA Times reporter Evan Halper – who covered Leon and Green Raiteros in a recent story – says the program "has put Huron on the map as perhaps the greenest migrant farmworker community in the country." Leon and Halper join us to talk about the program and the example it sets for greater state and federal efforts to go electric.