Overview
- Ann Arbor’s housing market is increasingly out of reach for many nonprofit employees, teachers, and essential workers. Median home prices have surpassed $475,000, and rents for a one-bedroom routinely top $1,700-$2000/month. These affordability pressures have pushed workers to outlying towns like Chelsea, Manchester, Jackson, Tecumseh, and Williamston, making long daily commutes a fact of life for those employed in the city.
- For those with access to a home charger and a reliable EV, these 80–100-mile round trips are not only feasible, but often more affordable and sustainable than driving a gas-powered car. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, driving an EV for an 80-mile round-trip commute can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50%, even accounting for Michigan’s current electricity mix. That translates to over 4.2 metric tons of CO₂ saved annually, or the equivalent of the carbon sequestered by five acres of U.S. forest each year.
- Ann Arbor features a dense network of public Level 2 and fast chargers in downtown parking structures, near campus, and at major shopping areas. Institutions like the University of Michigan have supported adoption with workplace charging and sustainability programs, making it easy for EV commuters to top off during the day and drive with confidence even in winter.
- For Mackenzie Munro, a long-time employee of Ann Arbor’s Ecology Center who recently took a new position that requires a similarly long commute, this combination of environmental consciousness and necessity led her to purchase a used Hyundai Kona EV. She installed a Level 2 home charger with help from her electrician brother-in-law and received a $4,500 rebate, which offset both her vehicle and installation costs. “Having that charger is absolutely amazing,” she says. “I love not stopping for gas.”
- But when she travels outside of Ann Arbor, it’s a different story. “There are still a lot of dead zones,” Mackenzie explains. “We’ve had to skip some vacation destinations because there were no charging stations nearby.” She notes that even when stations are listed, they’re sometimes out of service—underscoring the need not just for more stations, but for reliable maintenance.
- While drivers like Mackenzie prove that rural-to-urban EV commuting is possible, many areas in Michigan remain charging “dead zones,” making adoption impractical for the majority. Without a serious expansion of the state’s EV infrastructure, including maintenance of existing stations, the benefits of EVs will remain confined to places like Ann Arbor—while leaving behind the very workers trying to live more sustainably.
Transcription
David Fair: If you have a longer commute to work, there are advantages and some challenges to doing so with an electric vehicle. I'm David Fair, and this is Issues of the Environment on 89.1 WEMU. Now, EV considerations we have to make as consumers also have to do with affordable housing. We might not think about that as much. Mackenzie Munro is living the EV life and has put a great deal of thought and consideration into her mantle of travel and living. Until recently, she was making a longer commute into Ann Arbor for her job with the environmental research and advocacy organization, the Ecology Center. Now she's making similar travels for a new job in a different direction with the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Mackenzie wrote a fascinating blog post about her experiences, and we thought we might get some new insights by talking with her. Thank you so much for making time, Mackenzie! I appreciate it!
Mackenzie Munro: Oh, it's a pleasure, David! Thank you for having me on!
David Fair: Let's go back to the beginning. You started with the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor in 2015. So, how long was your commute at that point?
Mackenzie Munro: When I started with the Ecology Center in 2015, I was actually commuting from Hamburg, so it wasn't too terrible. But then, my significant other, or my husband, he got a position actually with Environment Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE. And we decided to purchase a house kind of halfway in between Ann Arbor and Lansing, which is where his position was. So, we ended up moving to a small town called Williamston, Michigan, which is about halfway between Brighton, Michigan and Lansing, and my commute became much longer.
David Fair: When did the EV come into the picture?
Mackenzie Munro: So, we purchased our house in December of 2021, and I started thinking about how long the commute was. So, it was about 52 minutes one way, and then, I had to drive back. So, I started thinking about how I could be more environmentally friendly. And then, with the new EV rebate that was going into effect in 2023, I thought that it might be a great time to take advantage of purchasing an electric vehicle.
David Fair: Well, EVs were and remain more expensive, and I'm sure you had to install a charger at the house. So, even with rebates and subsidies, how much extra did it cost to make the shift from combustion engine to EV?
Mackenzie Munro: So, because of the time period, obviously, with COVID-19 just kind of like going on in the background and used car prices going up a lot, we ended up purchasing an EV for just under around $23,000. That was all part of the consideration with the rebate since, when it comes to getting the $7,500 if you buy a new electric vehicle or the $4,000 if you buy used, there's all these requirements, right? And one of them is that the car has to be under, if you buy a used car, it has to be under $25,000. So, it actually was like a whole process, and I ended up purchasing an electric vehicle out of state because of that.
David Fair: Well, that sounds like a whole lot of work! Do you think it was worth it?
Mackenzie Munro: I totally think it was worth it! It sounds like it was a lot of work, but, in the end, it was fairly easy to actually purchase a car out of state. Of course, there was like a little bit of a learning curve, but, in the end, it actually worked out really well. And as for cost. I actually haven't had a lot like added cost having an electric vehicle. So, for example, when it comes to charging my vehicle, I probably spend about $30 to $50 a month.
David Fair: That's about a tank of gas. Right.
Mackenzie Munro: Yeah. So, of course, there's upfront costs like installing an EV charger at home. And at the time, DTE was offering a rebate of $500 for the charger itself. They were also offering one for installation, but, of course, I had somebody in the family come and do the electric work for me, but they also had an installation one as well.
David Fair: It really is all about who you know, isn't it?
Mackenzie Munro: Yes!
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and we're talking with Mackenzie Munro on Issues of the Environment about the advantages and some of the challenges of driving an electric vehicle when your commute is a bit longer than most. Infrastructure continues to be an issue for many who are pondering buying an electric vehicle. Driving into Ann Arbor where there are charging stations somewhat in abundance, at least comparatively speaking, is different than having to commute into Lansing to the new job. So, what are your challenges with the EV and the infrastructure that exists today?
Mackenzie Munro: Yes, you're totally right. It's all about location. And when I was commuting into Ann Arbor, which was three to four days a week, just last week, I just started this new position, that was in a way more convenient to charge my vehicle because of the abundance of chargers. Now commuting in to Lansing, there are chargers, of course, in Lansing, but it's much harder to find an electric vehicle charger.
David Fair: And that's going to be more important in winter when battery life isn't quite as long, right?
Mackenzie Munro: Yes. So, it is true that, in the winter, the battery life of my EV does go down a little bit. It's actually not as bad as I thought. It's not terrible. And even driving to Ann Arbor for two years with my electric vehicle, I didn't have a lot of anxiety. I know that there's definitely worry about that, like the anxiety of how far your EV can take you. And of course, I was driving like a hundred miles round trip. But I never really felt like I was going to run out of battery charge.
David Fair: I'm curious as to whether or not, as a family, you decided to keep a combustion engine vehicle to use in those circumstances where maybe the battery life isn't going to cover you, and the infrastructure is suspect.
Mackenzie Munro: Yes. We still have a combustion engine vehicle that we use for traveling sometimes, though I have used my electric vehicle to travel. It just takes a lot more planning. There's a lot of apps out there that now tell you, even built into the electric vehicle, actually will kind of track where there are easy charging stations, but it does take up much more planning. And I have driven all the way up to the Upper Peninsula, but, of course, you have to build it in much more because when you stop and get gas, it only takes like ten minutes.
David Fair: Takes a while to charge.
Mackenzie Munro: Right. But when it comes to charging, you usually want to look for like a Level 3 charger or something like that, which can charger vehicle to 80% in 30 minutes or 85%. But, yeah, you have to build in the 30 minutes of sitting there and finding something to do.
David Fair: Yeah right.
Mackenzie Munro: That's when they build the chargers at a place where you can eat or something. So, you can stop and eat and enjoy a meal while your car is charging.
David Fair: Our Issues of the Environment conversation with Mackenzie Munro continues on WEMU, and one of the issues I think people forget to consider, or perhaps they're forced to consider, is housing. When you're making longer commutes, the cost of living in Ann Arbor, it's just been going up faster than wages. And for middle income wages, living outside the city and commuting is often necessary. As you were deciding on where to live and what to drive, did you weigh the possibility of spending extra on living and utilizing public transportation in and around the city?
Mackenzie Munro: Yes. That weighed a huge amount when we were purchasing a house in 2021. Of course, during that time, it was kind of chaotic out there in the housing market, and we did look for housing in Washtenaw County. And we were looking, and it was really difficult to find an affordable house and to not get outbid. So, we ended up looking out way past Washtenaw County. And because of that, that really did weigh a huge amount on me purchasing an EV when we were looking for a new car, because I didn't want to have to just drive a gas vehicle to Ann Arbor and back, right, and working for an environmental organization, or focused organization, at the time. I thought it was important to weigh other options.
David Fair: Well, our time together is winding down, Mackenzie, but I do want to ask a final question for those who are listening. For someone who's sitting on the fence today about buying an electric vehicle, do all of the associated benefits outweigh all of the real challenges in your experience?
Mackenzie Munro: I think it really depends on where you live. Now, if you live in southeast Michigan and you commute to a bigger city where you have access to charging ports, or if you live close to where you work, but the public transportation system is not reliable or existent, it might be a good option for you because of the short distance of the commute, because of city driving, factors like that, access to charging ports. But if you are living in more remote or rural areas where that infrastructure doesn't exist yet, it might be something to think more of like along a hybrid.
David Fair: Mackenzie, I can't thank you enough for joining me and sharing your experience! I'm most grateful!
Mackenzie Munro: Oh, thank you so much, David! It was a pleasure being on Issues of the Environment!
David Fair: That is Mackenzie Munro, formerly of the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center, currently with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. For more information, stop by our website at WEMU.org when you have a minute. We'll get you connected everywhere you want to go. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR Station, 891 WEMU-FM, Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
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