The San Francisco Bay Area is a region already well known for its fabulous food, innovative technology, and breathtaking beauty. In the coming years, we could add one more thing to the list: electric vehicles.
On Thursday, the mayors of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose held a press conference at San Francisco's city hall to announce their ambitious goal of turning the Bay Area into the electric vehicle capital of the country. Here are details of the nine-point plan that will launch in December, as released by the San Francisco Mayor's office:
Expedited permitting and installation of electric vehicle charging outlets at homes, businesses, parking lots, and other buildings throughout the Bay Area;
Incentives for employers to install EV charging systems in their workplaces and provide similar incentives to parking facilities and other locations where EV charging stations can be installed;
Harmonize local regulations and standards across the region that govern EV infrastructure to achieve regulatory consistency for EV companies as well as expanded range for EV consumers;
Establish common government programs that promote the purchase of EVs;
Link EV programs and infrastructure to regional transit and air quality programs;
Establish programs for aggressive pooled-purchase orders for EVs in municipal, state government, and private sector fleets, and future commitment of purchasing preference for EV vehicles;
Expedited permitting and approval for facilities that provide extended-range driving capability for EVs in the region through battery exchange locations or fast-charging;
Identify and secure suitable standard (110V) electric outlets for charging low-voltage EVs in every government building in 2009;
Identify roll-out plan for placement of 220V EV-charging equipment throughout each city including city parking lots and curbside parking.
Autobytel is reducing its workforce by 35 percent and exploring a potential sale.
The online auto-marketer said Friday it has cut 75 positions and has hired RBC Capital Markets to explore strategic alternatives.
The company, which offers marketing services such as listing new and used cars for sale from dealers and manufacturers, has been struggling to reduce its cost structure and beef up revenue. Last year, Autobytel began a companywide cost-cutting program.
"While it is never easy to make a change of this magnitude, we believe our actions are necessary to bring the company more closely in line with our goals of reaching cash flow breakeven and achieving profitability," Jim Riesenbach, Autobytel's CEO, said in a statement.
Autobytel was up 6 percent in early morning trading to $1.06 a share.
Despite the recent turn of events, Autobytel has been one of the few online auto players to survive the dot-com meltdown at the start of the decade. In 2001, for example, the company acquired its former rival Autoweb for $15.6 million.
But advertising revenue has been dropping off. In the second quarter, the company reported revenue of about $19 million, down from $21.6 million a year ago.
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