All-electric road trip in Texas

July 17, 2024

By Ryan LaFontaine

AUSTIN — To really get a feel of what the open road is like in an electric vehicle, you need a road trip.

Michael Chamberlain, TxDOT’s data management section director, decided to do just that. He jumped in his personal EV and hit the road, traveling more than 8,300 miles and visiting 21 metropolitan planning organizations throughout the state.

“I also visited many of our future EV charging sites along the way,” Chamberlain said. “I had the opportunity to test drive a couple newly released EVs and visited two additional communities to discuss EV charging.”

TxDOT developed the Texas EV Infrastructure Plan in the spring of 2022. The goal is to build a network of charging stations that will give EV drivers in Texas confidence and flexibility when traveling, regardless of the distance traveled or weather conditions.

Chamberlain’s visits to MPOs were geared to inform local communities of the work being done to expand the network.

At each stop, Chamberlain gave demonstrations with batteries, electrical outlets, cables and connectors. He also gave presentations on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program.

“Most MPOs and communities are excited about the program and would like to start as soon as possible,” he said. “The purpose was to start the engagement process with MPOs, get them up to speed on the basics of EV charging, review phase 1 of the program in Texas, and start the planning process for phase 2 in their regions.”

There are currently 3,860 charging locations in Texas. TxDOT is in phase 1 of its charging station plan. This phase touches all interstate highways. Phase 2 will include locations away from the interstate.

Nationwide, EV sales have reportedly slowed a bit recently with consumers pointing to a lack of charging stations as a big reason they decided against an EV. But sales in Texas don’t seem to be slowing at all.

In August 2023, there were 218,889 plug-in and fully electric vehicles in Texas. As of this month, that number has soared to 293,436. Texas is adding about 2,000 new EVs each week.

“The NEVI program will build stations that can be used by all EV manufacturers,” said Chamberlain, who used Tesla’s charging network to power his road trip. “This will allow everyone to have the same experience."

TxDOT’s plan for EV infrastructure includes fast charging stations every 50 miles along interstate highways.

“When the NEVI network is complete in Texas, everyone will be able to do the same thing I did regardless of the EV they own,” Chamberlain said. “I absolutely recommend seeing Texas in an EV, it's a completely different experience.”