Within La Crosse County, 3.05 million miles were travelled daily, and 1.11 trillion miles were travelled annually (WisDOT).  If we were to interpolate VMT per capita, that would be 1.30 million miles travelled daily and 474.97 billion miles travelled annual within the city of La Crosse.  A 5% reduction would result in 1.24 million miles travelled daily and  451.22 billion miles travelled annually.

The recommended actions in the CAP are:

1. Create a "Sustainable Transportation Coordinator" role in the city to ensure coordination of CAP Transportation Sector actions and manage associated incentives and funding. 
2. Work with providers like Drift Cycle to actively promote and expand access and use of bike sharing throughout the city.
3. Solicit existing car share service provider or establish a car share program for the La Crosse area. Prioritize car sharing providers or programs that focus on EV utilization. Seek models or examples and trial local, neighborhood or apartment/housing development car and/or bike sharing.  Existing car share service providers include Zipcar or Hourcar. Person to person car-sharing programs include Turo and Getaround.
4. Establish a parking cash out program, where municipal employees who do not drive to work can cash out their parking space, or receive a comparable transit benefit. Provide guidance for other businesses and organizations to implement their own parking cash out program. Goal: 10 New organizations establishing programs annually.
5. Assist large employers with developing transportation demand management (TDM) plans. Goal: 24 New organizations making commitments annually.
6. Establish a Guaranteed Ride Home Program, ensuring that employees who commute via transit or bicycle are able to get a ride share or taxi home and not be left at work if a situation arises.
7. Establish/increase ordinance requirements and design review requirements for street level, secure bike parking for every residential unit in residential zones and appropriate high-density bike parking facility requirements for commercial and public use zones
8. Parking Benefit District (ordinance enacted in Feb. 2019).  These districts are areas in which a percentage of funds collected from municipal parking spaces are used to fund improvements within the district.
9. Create and promote incentives for employers to provide incentives such as transit passes, covered and secure bicycle parking, bicycle sharing stations, carpool parking, shuttle services, fleet vehicle car-sharing for personal use, and pedestrian facilities. implementation should be prioritized for improved equity.
10. Create and promote incentives supporting adoption of alternative mobility such as bike and eBike ownership and/or sharing. Incentive implementation should be prioritized for improved equity.
11. Conduct a review of and implement strategies to minimize stoppage, idling, and fuel wastage.  Strategies may include traffic light timing and implement modifications, smart traffic light technology, public education and communication on climate impacts of idling and ways community members can eliminate idling such as avoidance of drive throughs etc.

There are an estimated 55,000 vehicles in La Crosse.  11,000 of those vehicles would need to be replaced with EVs to reach 20%. 

EVs registered in 2020: 133

EVs registered in 2022: 281(source)

Resources: 

Inflation Reduction Act Vehicle Upgrades Incentives for Individuals

Purchasing New electric vehicles

• Total tax credit available is up to $7,500
• List of eligible vehicles. Check and note vehicle eligibility upon vehicle purchase as this list will be continually updated and eligibility is dependent upon the purchase date.
• To be eligible for the tax credits
  • Vehicle must have a battery capacity of at least 7-kilowatt hours
  • Have a gross vehicle weight of less than 14,000 pounds
  • Be made by a qualified manufacturer. See index of qualified manufacturers and vehicles
  • Undergo final assembly in North America. To verify, check list of Electric Vehicles with Final Assembly in North America  or check final assembly location listed on the vehicle's VIN sticker.
  • Retail prices (MSRP) cannot exceed
    • Pickups, SUVs, and vans must cost < $80,000
    • Cars must cost < $55,000
      • Some car models have exceptions to this limit and have an $80,000 MSRP cap.
• Household income requirements for the tax credits
  • Joint tax return < $300,000
  • Head of household < $225,000
  • Single-payer < $150,000

2023 guidance on EV credit for purchased vehicles and 2022 guidance for vehicles purchased before 2022.

Purchasing Used electric vehicles

• $4,000 tax credit or 30% of vehicle’s sale price
• Stipulations: vehicle’s model must be at least two years older than the current “new” model year, and the total vehicle cost must be less than $25,000
• Again, there are also income requirements:
  • Joint tax return < $150,000
  • Head of household < $112,300
  • Single-payer < $75,000

2023 White House guidance on EV credit for purchased vehicles.

Leasing new electric vehicles

When you lease a vehicle the company leasing you the vehicle can access a different, commercial vehicle EV tax credit. Typically companies pass those savings onto you as the person paying for the lease.  The preliminary IRS guidance indicates that leased EVs do not fall under the same Buy American requirements as purchased EVs. That means that some vehicles that are not eligible for a tax credit if you purchase the vehicle will be eligible for a tax credit at lease. (In IRS terms, it’s the difference between a Section 30D credit and a Section 45W credit.) 

Electric vehicle chargers

Individuals can receive a 30% tax credit, up to $1,000, for the installation of a home electric vehicle charger. To qualify, the equipment must be placed in a low-income community or a non-urban area.

Low-income communities include population census tracts where the poverty rate is at least 20% or is a metropolitan or non-metropolitan area census tract where the median family income is less than 80% of the state median family income level.

Inflation Reduction Act Vehicle Upgrades Incentives for Organizations

Fleet Vehicles

The US Dept. of Energy has training for fleet and facility managers interested in developing expertise in fleet electrification.

The IRA includes separate provisions for clean fuel tax credits for consumers and businesses. 

• The consumer credits for purchasing a new electric vehicle include specific requirements around vehicle components. 
• The business credit does not include specific requirements around vehicle components

The clean vehicle credit is a tax credit for businesses and is available as Direct Pay for nonprofits and other tax-exempt entities. 

For qualified commercial clean vehicles, the credit equals the lesser of:

• 15% of the entity’s tax basis in the vehicle (30% if the vehicle is not powered by gas or diesel)
• The incremental cost of the vehicle

The maximum credit is $7,500 for qualified vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs) of under 14,000 pounds and $40,000 for all other vehicles. The credit applies to road vehicles as well as mobile machinery, as defined in § 4053(8) of the Code.

Learn more about the EV credit under lease arrangements.

See also FAQs for the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit

Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging

Businesses that install EV chargers and station equipment at their property can qualify for a tax credit of up to 6% of the cost of charging equipment, up to a maximum credit of $100,000 per unit.  Projects completed before December 31, 2022, will still be subject to the prior $30,000 cap.

To qualify, the equipment must be placed in a low-income community or a non-urban area.  Low-income communities include population census tracts where the poverty rate is at least 20% or a metropolitan or non-metropolitan area census tract where the median family income is less than 80% of the state median family income level.