National Drive Electric Week
Schenectady, NY
Sep 09, 2017
Schenectady, NY
Sep 09, 2017
| Day: | Saturday, September 9, 2017 NOTE: this event has already happened, find current-year events on the Attend page. |
| Time: | 10:00 am to 3:00 pm |
| Location: | City Hall 105 Jay Street Schenectady, NY 12305 |
Event Report
Last year around this time, we were rejoicing over having completed our best NDEW event ever in Delmar, NY. This year we took it to an even higher level. Thanks to all of our dedicated Capital District EV Drivers group members, our volunteer workers, local dealers, Proterra buses, and the City of Schenectady for allowing us to knock it out of the park with our 5th annual event. Months of planning came together and with clear skies, the EV movement marched right into the heart of the Electric City. The event speakers in attendance were City of Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy, Alicia Barton, President and CEO New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and New York's 20th congressional district Congeressman Paul D. Tonko. Proterra provided an E2 electric bus for free shuttle rides loops around the city bringing show goers. There were five dealer vehicles available for test drives, including a BMW i3, two Kia Soul EVs, a Volt and a Bolt EV.
photo by: Glenn Marcucio This drone photo really captures the scale of the event, although in this early morning photo the foot traffic was still light. Once the Greek and Little Italy Festivals around the corners commenced, we had a steady flow of people visiting all afternoon. There were five demo EVs which provided test drives all day The event was scheduled to end at 3:00 pm but we were so busy that we kept it going until 4:30 pm. In addition to virtually every commercially available EV on the market, we had some great specialty EVs as well. Those included a 1965 Porsche 904 fiberglass replica pure EV, a custom Fat Bike that L2 charged on site, and a rare [not yet available in the US] BMW C-evolution scooter. Proterra brought a 40 passenger E2 electric bus and provided narrated and complimentary rides transiting people between our show, parking garages, and the various festivals. |
Event Description
Take part in our 5th annual National Drive Electric Week event in the Electric City!
This is an opportunity for EV enthusiasts and auto dealers to showcase pure electric vehicles to the public in a relaxed open venue free of manufacturer, technical, or political bias. The goal is to get people excited about modern EVs and while giving them the opportunity to get up close and personal with them, as well as making EV test drives available from local dealers. It’s also a chance to help inform the public about electric vehicles, like any new technology, there are still some prevalent misconceptions and lots of questions that the public has. With a range of EVs on the road, there is an electric car for every lifestyle.
Attention all EV drivers displaying in the show: You will have to come down Liberty street from Erie Blvd. That will be the only way cars will be able to enter the event space. Please don't arrive before 9:00 am.
Local dealers will be bringing new EVs for test drives. We welcome participation from local car dealerships, EV owners, renewable energy companies, utility companies, and anyone else that is part of the electric vehicle eco-system.
The free Proterra electric bus route can be seen on Schenectady's page:
http://www.cityofschenectady.com/539/Electric-Vehicle-Destination
Fun for the whole family
Free Admission
There will be three festivals, going on around the corner: a Little Italy, a Greek festival, and the Stockade Art event. There will be food and music, a NYSERDA outreach event and other attractions.
Take part in our EV group photo. There will be a Wellness Fair next door. The Albany Bicycle Rescue folks will be there with bikes.
There will be Solar power vendor displays to show the advantages of making your own clean energy and saving money.
See BMW's all new C-evolution electric scooter. One of the first in the country!
Interested people are encouraged to join our Facebook group called the Capital District EV Drivers. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/CapitalDistrictEVDrivers/)
Registered Attendees
There are currently 737 attendees registered.
Owners of These Vehicles Have Registered To Attend
| Vehicle | Registered |
| Nissan Leaf (2011-2017) | 22 |
| Chevrolet Bolt | 19 |
| Tesla Model S | 14 |
| Chevrolet Volt | 11 |
| Kia Soul EV | 10 |
| Smart fortwo electric drive | 4 |
| Other Plug-In Vehicle | 3 |
| Tesla Model X | 3 |
| BMW i3 | 2 |
| Chevy Spark EV | 2 |
| Honda Fit EV | 2 |
| Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive | 2 |
| Mitsubishi i-MiEV | 2 |
| Audi A3 e-tron | 1 |
| BMW i3 REx | 1 |
| EV Conversion | 1 |
| Fiat 500e | 1 |
| Ford C-MAX Energi | 1 |
| Ford Focus Electric | 1 |
| Ford Fusion Energi | 1 |
| Proterra EcoRide BE35 | 1 |
| Tesla Roadster | 1 |
| Toyota RAV4 EV (2012 and later) | 1 |
| Volkswagen e-Golf | 1 |
| Zero Motorcycle | 1 |
| 25 Models | 108 |
Registered attendees report 2,706,676 electric miles driven.
