MI Future Mobility Plan, Pillar 2: Provide Safer, Greener and More Accessible Transportation Infrastructure and Services

Goal A: By 2030, deploy 100,000 EV chargers to support 2,000,000 EVs and improve access to hydrogen infrastructure.

Charging Initiatives

• Bolster Charge Up Michigan Program to Accelerate Growth of Charging Infrastructure Statewide: Leverage NEVI funds and other federal/state funding, utility collaborations, and innovative public-private partnership models to deploy EV charging infrastructure along Michigan’s interstates and strategic thoroughfares. This includes creating regulatory rights of way to speed up charging station deployment. And continue to build out signature routes like the Lake Michigan loop to extend around the Great Lakes to reduce range anxiety and stimulate tourism clusters. The state should lead by example and procure 100% zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) vehicles by 2035 for light-duty vehicles, 2045 for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, and coordinate plan for ZEV charging.
• More Accessible and Equitable Charging Investments and Tools: Develop resource to assist local communities in supporting buildout of EV charging networks. Incentivize buildout in commercially inviable areas. Deploy funds to design local strategic plans for siting EV chargers based on user-experience, and at locations where make-ready infrastructure can be leveraged. Plans should target incentives for retrofitting multi-unit dwellings and offer charging to lower income communities. Finally, the state should take a lead position in developing ADA-compliant accessibility standards for EV chargers.

EV Adoption Initiatives

• Accelerate Fleet Transition: New incentives to motivate public and private fleet transitions for both passenger and freight vehicles. Rebates and/or tax credits for retirement of ICE vehicles and purchasing of replacement EVs. Provide extra incentives for small and medium businesses, lower-income neighborhoods; and fleets in areas with a history of environmental injustice. Bolster EGLE’s resources for existing programs and expand electric utility fleet electrification and education.
• New Incentive Tools to Purchase Passenger EVs: Approve and execute a state $2,500 rebate/POS incentive ($2,000 for the vehicle, $500 for charging equipment). The state should fund a statewide rebate program for EVs that aligns with existing programs and complements the existing $7,500 federal credit.
• More EV Seller Education Tools: Target the total cost of ownership comparison with more robust awareness campaigns. Ensure dealer entities have demonstration EVs and chargers. Work for rebates on consumer-purchased EVs that scale based on household income and the fuel efficiency of any trade-in.

Hydrogen Initiatives

• Improve Competitiveness for H2 Investment: Nominate more H2 DOE Alternative Fuel Corridors and conduct a study on commercial goods movement to inform future federal grant applications for H2 technology. Continued state support for H2 coalitions around the Midwest and in Canada that benefit Michigan’s carbon neutrality interests. Support H2 R&D and production efforts by private sector partners in-state. Develop state strategy for hydrogen deployment.

Goal C: Reduce congestion and traffic crash rates statewide by 2026.

Congestion and Safety Initiatives

• New Funding Tools To Deploy Smart Infrastructure: Provide funding for Michigan’s P3 C-AV laneway development. Fund state’s portal facilitating dig-once policies as precursors to integration of infrastructure asset networks and operations. Scale work zone safety pilots to de-risk vulnerable parts of the state’s transportation system. And leverage road user charging study results to uncover new revenue models around AVs and EVs.
• Become a National Leader in Supply Chain/Logistics Innovation: Leverage programs like the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform to prove out larger in-state private investment in autonomous last-mile delivery, drones, rail, smart food distribution and other cutting-edge multimodal solutions. Provide grants to mobility companies to develop these use cases. Create use cases to strengthen partnership between Michigan and Ontario.
• Develop Policy for AV Industries to Innovate Faster: With safety in mind, relax outdated policies and rules related to vehicle design certifications. Allow for deviations in the testing of alternatively designed vehicles. Via R&D incentives, invest in alternative vehicle design development and testing. Relax liability requirements for alternative AV design and real-world testing. And analyze other states’ security laws and regulations, develop requirements for CAV data platform management and cyber security.
• Advance Timelines on CV2X Infrastructure: Lead the national conversation around funding Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (CV2X) infrastructure and the office support needed to operate. Do this in a way that prioritizes funding for states that have stranded investments in Digital Short-Range Communications (DSRC or radio) systems. Focus on infrastructure and systems that can facilitate a roundtrip data dialogue of <10miliseconds.