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Driving Clean in the Country

Sara Schultz, a busy volunteer, bought the original Prius and has stayed with EVs since. Today the suburban Buffalo resident and her husband enjoy taking their Chevy Bolt out to the country for birdwatching and hiking, on longer trips to Pittsburgh and the Catskills, and to Rochester to see her grandchildren.

Occupation: Grandmother, volunteer. Sara is chair of the Sierra Club’s Niagara Group and serves on two local government committees.

Driving profile: Road tripper

Vehicle: Chevy Bolt

I really like that, because I chose to drive an EV, several friends and family members now drive an EV or plug-in hybrid.

Favorite vehicle feature: Performance. “My Chevy Bolt is very peppy, but so quiet.”

Driving pattern: Sara drives 70 miles from Williamsville to Rochester every week to watch her grandchildren. She and her husband have taken longer trips to Pittsburgh and to the Catskills. They always take the Bolt out to the country for birdwatching and hiking. “Unless we are in a hurry when traveling farther, we prefer to take the Bolt to avoid greenhouse gases and because it’s just a great drive,” she says.

How she charges her EV: Sara has a Level 2 charger at home. When she drives to Rochester she doesn’t need to recharge in the summer; in the winter, she uses the Level 2 charger at her son’s house. On the trip to Pittsburgh she used a public electric charging station in Erie, Pennsylvania; on her drive to the Catskills she used a free charging station at an auto dealership in Ithaca.

Challenges: Sara’s initial challenges included remembering to plug the Bolt in and to plan her commute to Rochester in the winter, as there was no guarantee that she would have Level 2 charging to get back to Bu!alo. “I managed to pull it o! every time,” she says. “A few times I got o! the thruway two stops early and drove the back route to save some juice.” Today, however, she uses her son’s Level 2 charger in Rochester during winter visits.

What she loves about driving an EV: “Not going to gas stations. Also, I really like that because I chose to drive an EV, several friends and family members now drive an EV or plug-in hybrid.” Her son, for example, “was so impressed with the Chevy Bolt that he got one himself.”

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