Celebrating the Benefits of Driving Electric 
Santa Cruz, California –Over 600 people including electric vehicle owners, enthusiasts, local officials, and intrigued local residents participated in the Monterey Bay Plug In Day on Sunday, September 29 at the Staff of Life Natural Food Market at 1266 Soquel Ave in Santa Cruz.
The event marked the third annual National Plug In Day, with over 90 cities from across the country participating, to highlight the fun, clean-air benefits and cost-savings of electric vehicles. Ecology Action organized 40 test drives of the more popular electric vehicles on the market today.
“ Plug In Day for Monterey Bay was a fantastic team effort as EV dealers, EV owners, solar companies and others came together to educate the public about plug-in electric vehicles and emission-free energy,” stated Sharon Sarris, event co-organizer and co-chair, Monterey Bay Electric Vehicle Alliance. “Test drives and owner stories about their experiences were key to generating excitement about electric vehicles,” added Jack Brown, co-organizer of the event and Electric Auto Association Central Coast member.
The 2013 Annual Event Featured:
More than 20 different plug-in models displayed by owners and local EV dealers
Test drives/rides – Tesla Sedan, Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and Spark, Ford C-Max Energi, Zero Motorcycles. Many EV models were available for test drives.
Brief Program, featured Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold and Recognition Awards
Raffle prizes featured a ChargePoint $50 Visa gift card, Tesla merchandise, Free Segway tours, Free day’s use of a Nissan Leaf from Enterprise Rental
For more information on local electric vehicle events such as test drive opportunities, workshops, and more visit the Monterey Bay Electric Vehicle Alliance’s website at mbeva.org. Ecology Action organized the Monterey Bay Area’s National Plug In Day Event.
Local Sponsors: Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District, Staff of Life Natural Food Market, Allterra Solar, Santa Cruz Sentinel, KUSP, Solar Technologies, Santa Cruz Weekly, and Sandbar Solar