PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — If you are looking to go electric, but still have questions, an online forum can help guide you down the road to ownership.
The Philly EV Club could be a good resource for those who feel a little lost.
Ilya Knizhnik considers himself a bit of a trailblazer in the EV world. More than a decade ago, Ilya got his first EV: a plug-in Toyota Prius.
“Right now I have a Tesla Model Y, and I’m thinking that my son, who is charging up the Prius, was a three-year-old is now a teenager, and I wonder if this is going to be the first car that he learns to drive,” he said.
Over the years, his vehicles may have changed, but his commitment to a cleaner environment hasn’t.
“In the long run, EVs are the only realistic option for environmentally friendly personal transportation,” he said.
Knizhnik now helps local consumers navigate EV ownership with the Philly EV Club.
The Facebook group is mainly a forum for members to share stories, ideas and even vent mainly about:
“I would say it’s charging,” he said.
At one time, Knizhnik helped to successfully advocate for more accessible charging in front of row homes through a special permitting process that allowed EV owners to install the chargers in front of their homes in reserved spots.
“I was one of the first 50 people. In that program, which was very quickly discontinued,” he said.
Although vehicle owners can no longer get that special permit to have a reserved EV spot, Knizhnik is hopeful that charging, whether private or public, will grow as EV ownership grows.
“EVs are coming, and at one point they will be the majority of vehicles,” he said.
The Philly EV Club also organizes some meetups, usually around Earth Day and Drive Electric Week.
This meetup in front of the IKEA in South Philly drew hundreds, which Knizhnik says is a testament to the interest in EVs.
“People showed off their electric vehicles; they already had them. A lot of people asked questions and got a chance to look around.”
As for the future of EVs in the city, Knizhnik says, “What I would like to see is accessible and affordable infrastructure. So, infrastructure that the average person doesn’t have to figure out.”
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