Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


After years of free use, electric vehicle stations in downtown Howell will soon require a mobile app to pay for charging.

There are currently two electric vehicle charging stations located in the State Street parking area. Mayor Bob Ellis says those are starting to be used more, as more people become aware of them.

The City has not been charging anything and people could just charge their vehicles whenever they wanted to. The City has been in the process of developing a way for people to be able to pay for that service, which will be done via a cell phone app. If the City can generate some revenue, Ellis says they’ll be better able to put in more stations and expand the service.

City Manager Erv Suida says the plan has always been to pay for charging once usage increased. He said they are not set on cost yet but hope to have the mobile app implemented by the end of August.