EV car share program expands in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — When Lucius Johnson has somewhere to go, he’s often taking an electric vehicle for a spin, but he only rents one when he needs it.

“It’s got everything that a new car would have,” Johnson said.

Johnson is a member of the Carolina Car Share program, which allows users to rent electric cars for $5 an hour or $50 a day.

He says he got started shortly after the program came to his apartment complex, when he had a family emergency.

“My daughter’s car broke, so I said, ‘You can take mine. I can take this,’” Johnson said.

He’d never tried an EV before but found the program was cheaper and easier than using his own car.

Charlotte’s chief sustainability officer, Heather Bolick, says that’s the program’s goal.

“All the maintenance of a car, all the gas these days is really expensive, and so being able to provide a vehicle that has cheaper fuel in the form of electricity is also a huge benefit,” Bolick said.

The Carolina Car Share program started at Peppertree Apartments as a service to the residents. But it has since expanded to multiple places around the city to give more folks the chance to try it out.

“We wanted to open the opportunity to others, so we’re working on the best ways to get the word out,” Bolick said.

There are now stations at the McNeel Apartments and the Innovation Barn, and data shows the cars have dozens of active drivers and are in use nine to 12 hours a day.

Bolick says the city is looking for more partners and opportunities to expand.

“We would love to find other partners that would help support this program and be host sites,” Bolick said.

As for Johnson, he says he still uses his truck every now and then, but for most trips, he’s booking one of these for an hour or two.

“As much as I can, and with the gas prices now, I use it more often than I normally do,” Johnson said.

The city of Charlotte planned these car shares around affordable housing sites. Peppertree Apartments has hosted the car share since March 2025. The McNeel and Innovation Barn sites were added this year.

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