Madison and its surrounding communities are leading the way in Wisconsin’s adoption of electric transportation technologies, with more electric buses, garbage trucks and cars taking to the streets than ever before.
To celebrate, Dane County- and Wisconsin-based clean energy advocates are coming together on Thursday, Sept. 26 in recognition of both the recent finalization of clean-car standards by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Madison’s own electric vehicle (EV) milestones.
Take Dane County’s 25% slice of all EVs registered in Wisconsin, for instance. More of its residents drive EVs than anywhere else in the state, the county’s Office of Energy & Climate Change reported. And, in addition to the fleet of electric buses that run on Madison’s new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes, the city recently launched Wisconsin’s first two electric garbage trucks into service. ( Citizens can name the trucks, by the way. )
As is happening elsewhere in the U.S., local policymakers throughout Wisconsin have begun to implement plans to combat climate change and address the transportation industry’s role in it. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway announced her administration’s Climate Forward agenda back in 2021 , which planted the seeds for the current transition to EVs. The Charge Up Dane County initiative has also sought to expand public EV-charging infrastructure throughout the county. The program received $13.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) last month.