YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Ronnell Elkins is busy on a hot morning in late June wiping down a fleet of electric bicycles he rents through his business, YoGo Bikeshare. The bike rental company recently installed a new charging station at the corner of Fifth Avenue and West Federal Street near the central fire station.
“This is our newest docking station,” Elkins says. “It was introduced this year and is by far the most popular one.”
Last year, Elkins launched the new e-bike service to encourage city residents to adopt a novel way of transportation. “We launched in April of 2024 and ran until November,” he says. Despite a later start this year – the e-bikes weren’t available until May – he says that ridership has more than doubled all last year’s numbers.
“Here we are in late June and we’re at more than 3,000 rides,” Elkins said. “We ended up last year with about 1,500 rides.”
Electric bikes, autonomous electric shuttles, a growing EV infrastructure, and a plan to transition a significant fleet of public transportation to zero emission vehicles, point to a community that has slowly embraced the concept of Voltage Valley.
Elkins says YoGo is starting to resonate with people, as more become familiar with how e-bikes operate and how the bike share business model works.
YoGo’s e-bikes are a hybrid of pedal and battery power, Elkins says. As such, a biker does not have to use as much force to operate the bike. “As you pedal, the electric battery kicks in. It makes for a fun ride when you get that extra jolt and burst of acceleration.”
Customers looking to rent an e-bike need to download the YoGo Bikeshare app, then scan a QR code at one of the docking stations. Once the code is scanned, the bike unlocks, and the customer can ride. On average, the battery life of YoGo’s e-bikes on a single charge can extend between 50 and 60 miles. “Your first ride is free,” he said. “Five dollars buys about 15 minutes,” he says. Riders can return the bikes at any docking/recharging site.
In addition to the Fifth Avenue docking site, the company has locations at the Youngstown Flea on East Federal Street, a charging location near the Erie Terminal building along Commerce Street and Phelps Street, and another at Wick Park.
“People are getting accustomed to seeing these out and how they work,” he said.
EV ADOPTION IN THE CITY
Last year, the city installed three new electric-vehicle charging stations at its lot behind City Hall and at another site along Fifth Avenue, where YoGo has placed its newest docking station.
However, it’s unclear as to whether the city’s EV chargers are attracting much business. A reporter who made several trips to the Federal Street charging station over the last several weeks observed no users.
On a late June morning, a reporter observed a Cadillac Optiq EV charging at its lot behind City Hall.
Also earlier this year, the city launched service for its autonomous EV shuttle bus, which at present transits the length of East and West Federal streets. The shuttle was included as part of downtown’s Smart2 street development project, and was a mandatory component in order for the city to secure a $10 million federal grant to assist the project.
Several calls to the city requesting information regarding data related to charger usage and ridership on its shuttle service were not returned.
WRTA FORGES AHEAD WITH EV PLANS
Meanwhile, the Western Reserve Transit Authority is moving forward with ambitious plans to expand its EV capability.
The public transportation service plans to break ground later this year on a complete overhaul of its bus garage, which would eventually include EV charging capacity for 20 electric buses. Initially, the new garage would house approximately six charging stations.
“We’ll have a groundbreaking probably in September,” said Dean Harris, executive director of WRTA.The plan calls for a complete demolition and reconstruction of the existing garage.
Harris said WRTA is also in the process of testing its own autonomous EV shuttle. “We have it driving around, but it’s not in service yet,” he said. Harris also said that the first of the fleet’s EV buses should arrive by the end of this year, while eight others could arrive by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
WRTA administers two public charging stations in its parking lot along Mahoning Avenue, as well as two others at its administration building. “They’re getting a lot of use,” he said. “They’re pretty much filled up.”
Harris noted that additional funding for EV programs under the Trump administration might not be as readily available as in recent years, but believes that the money for future projects will be there. “It might take a little longer, but I’m pretty confident we will find the money.”
WORK CONTINUES ON EV INFRASTRUCTURE
Construction activity related to additional EV chargers across the region is also still very healthy, added Cody Hilliard, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 64.
“There are still more EV cars being put on the road every day,” he said. “To me, it looks like adoption is still fairly strong.”
Hilliard said that IBEW contractors have been busy with new installations, most notably at car dealerships. “The bottom line is that you’re still installing more of these chargers,” he said. “There’s also a significant amount on the residential side.”
According to the latest data on Plugshare, an app that pinpoints the location of EV chargers for motorists, Mahoning County boasted at least 40 charging stations that were either in service or would soon be commissioned. The site listed at least 16 in Trumbull County and at least 10 in Columbiana County.
“We’ve added curricula for EV chargers in our apprenticeship programs, I believe it’s in our fifth year curriculum. That’s now being part of a journeyman.”
Pictured at top: Ronnell Elkins of YoGo Bikeshare.