“In 750 feet, come to a stop,” intones the GPS, mounted near the dashboard of the METS Micro van.
I’m on my own first METS Micro ride, taking me from my home near the university of Evansville to about eight blocks from WNIN.
This is about as close as METS Micro rides can get based on their limited routes — but that’s about to change.
The City of Evansville is the recipient of a $20 million Community Change Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
Part of the funds will be used to expand city rideshare service METS Micro citywide.
This service is a three-year pilot program for low-cost, on-demand rides throughout most of the east side of the city.
With this grant, the service is expanding from three vans and limited routes to 16 vans ranging from Deaconess Gateway Hospital in the east to the University of Southern Indiana (USI) in the west.
Lauren Norvell is city Climate Action Director. One main purpose of the grant is to reduce pollution in the city.
“We're surrounded by power plants; we use a lot of energy,” she said. “We're a densely populated area, and we have a lot of traffic, so transportation is one of the areas where we contribute a lot of air pollutants, and so it's a really great place to start to solve the problem.”
Those vans will be hybrid-electric to reduce emissions. This portion of the grant will begin to be implemented starting spring of 2025.
Other facets of the grant are repairing and enhancing more than four miles of city sidewalks, expanding the electric bike service and installing 62 EV charging stations.
“That will help residents get around to seek the essential services they need — like food and healthcare, and then give them more opportunities, like for work and school and going to church and social engagements.”
Norvell said about 86-percent of city census blocks are considered disadvantaged and 45-percent of households are low income.
The city is one of 105 to be awarded the grant out of 2,700 applicants.
More on the grant, via the City of Evansville
The city of Evansville, alongside Welborn Baptist Foundation, has been awarded a $20 million Community Change Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, EPA officials announced today.
The awarded project will help Evansville transition to cleaner, lower-emission transportation systems. The project will promote public transit, shared rides, and physically active modes of travel – built around new “mobility hubs” across the city to provide convenience, accessibility, and ease of transition among both public and private transportation modes.
The project was developed under the leadership of city agencies, including the Evansville Climate Collaborative and Department of Transportation & Services, in partnership with the Evansville Metropolitan Planning Organization, Welborn Baptist Foundation, Evansville Trails Coalition, and TriState Creation Care.
Evansville was one of 105 cities awarded, selected from more than 2,700 applicants.
“This transformative grant from the EPA marks a pivotal step forward for Evansville in building a cleaner, more accessible, and sustainable future,” said Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry. “By investing in innovative transportation systems and enhancing mobility across our community, we’re creating opportunities for all residents to thrive while addressing critical environmental challenges.
“I’m incredibly proud of the leadership of Lauren Norvell, Director of the Evansville Climate Collaborative, and of the collaborative effort behind this project. I’m excited to see how these improvements will benefit our city and its residents for generations to come.”
Among the projects funded by the grant are:
- Developing 15 mobility hubs along existing METS public transit routes
- Expanding METS Micro Transit program to 16 EV / hybrid, ADA-accessible vans
- Improving 4.1 miles of city sidewalks for ADA accessibility, and for walking and biking
- Installing 62 publicly accessible EV charging stations at city facilities, public destinations and affordable housing units.
- Expanding the Upgrade bikeshare system to include 100 E-bikes, with 1,000 free annual memberships for city residents to utilize unlimited 30 min. rides.
- Installing solar panels on the METS administration building and bus terminal to further lower emissions of our public transit.
- Conducting a community-wide education and outreach campaign to increase utilization of cleaner transportation options and awareness of their impact on air quality.
- Conducting a free annual community event to promote EVs and other low emission vehicles.
Work on the project will begin March 17, 2025, per the grant agreement.
“This project will provide our residents better access to clean and active transportation options, which will in turn reduce transportation air emissions and improve our air quality,” said Lauren Norvell, Director of the Evansville Climate Collaborative. “It is just one of the many collaborative projects we are engaged in to improve our climate resilience and quality of life here in Evansville.”