Sylmar : 2 Residents Plug Into Electric Cars

Ever since Jackie Ochoa of Sylmar stopped using her pickup truck to commute to the nearby Metrolink station, her neighborhood’s been a little quieter and a little cleaner.

That’s because Ochoa is one of two San Fernando Valley residents, both Los Angeles Department of Water and Power workers, who are using electric cars for the next few weeks.

The program is designed to gather both data and publicity as DWP prepares to remodel Los Angeles’ infrastructure for the coming of the electric auto.

“We want to showcase that electric cars are a viable urban transportation option and particularly fit in with suburban commuters’ use of public transportation,” DWP spokeswoman Mindy Berman said.

Ochoa and her colleague, Robert Ellefson of Chatsworth, are only authorized to drive their sedans to and from the Metrolink station, where they can be plugged into generators and recharged.

But it’s in the space of those few miles that the greatest difference between electric cars and ones powered by fuel becomes apparent, Berman said.

“A large percentage of your pollution from vehicles comes from start-up and the first few miles of driving,” Berman said, “because that’s when your engine is kicking in.”

Berman said the six-month program, which started last week, will hopefully rotate among DWP employees, as well as workers from the state Department of Transportation and the MTA.

Ochoa, 32, a water services representative, said she decided to go electric when she spotted a notice in an internal newsletter. The car, modeled after the Geo Prizm, has no gears, so it gives a smoother ride than a gas guzzler, Ochoa said.

“It’s just a regular car,” she said. “It’s a little different, of course, because when you turn it on it’s [automatically] ready to go.”