PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — As electric vehicles become more popular, new numbers show that Pasco County leads the Tampa Bay area in EV use.
What You Need To Know
- New numbers show Pasco residents are driving more miles in electric vehicles
- Replica’s data estimated 352 EV miles per 1,000 Pasco County residents this year
- One reason is the amount of drivers commuting between Pasco and nearby cities
Residents are driving more EV miles in Pasco than any other Bay area county, according to the mobility analytics firm Replica.
Former New Port Richey mayor Rob Marlowe was an early EV driver when the cars weren’t as common. Now he sees them all over Pasco.
“I would go days, sometimes weeks, without seeing another plug-in car on the road,” Marlowe said. “That has changed. I just about can’t go out on a drive without seeing one or more EVs somewhere.”
Replica’s data shows an estimated 352 EV miles per 1,000 Pasco County residents this year. Which is six miles more than Manatee County, the next-highest in the Bay area. It’s also 58% more than Pinellas County, which is more densely populated.
Marlowe’s believes it’s because drivers commute from Pasco to Tampa or St. Petersburg for work.
“It makes sense,” Marlowe said. “If I were going down into Tampa, where it was 30 or 35 miles each way, I would rack up a lot of miles in a hurry.”
Marlowe said he feels he helped with the high ratings, by encouraging the city of New Port Richey to add charging stations downtown while he was mayor.
“It’s good for the environment and it’s good for people’s wallets. It also provides the city with a very positive image,” he said.
As they add more charging stations across Pasco County, officials expect the use of EVs to continue to grow.
Both Pasco and Manatee were in the top 10 counties for EV use in Florida.
