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Evie Carshare program’s future in St. Paul
Following its shutdown earlier this month, St. Paul’s Mayor Kaohly Her outlines the city’s continued investment in the future of the program, saying the city will seek a new vendor to operate the fleet the city has since secured.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - After Evie carshare announced it would cease operations in the Twin Cities on Oct. 15, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said on Thursday the city will sink $300,000 into securing the company’s fleet and will seek another vendor to keep them running.
Evie in the Twin Cities
What we know:
On Thursday, Mayor Her held a press conference to outline a plan to keep the cars on the road.
"We are here to take on climate change head on, and we are still investing in the infrastructure we need for tomorrow, including in neighborhoods that have too often been left out," Her said at a press conference.
According to Her, in 2024, 44% of the Evie carshares were used by low-income residents, and 45% were by BIPOC members.
Within a week of the announcement, Mayor Her said that city staff from multiple departments had recovered and secured nearly 200 vehicles of its fleet that the city holds a lease on, and were used to operate trips.
Following the closure, her administration has since identified an additional $160,000 that adds to the $140,000 we've already budgeted for next year to keep the program running, as the city seeks another vendor to run the program.
"We will issue a request for information to find a partner to take this program over. This step is crucial as we try to find a bridge operator," Her said on Thursday. "Climate change isn't waiting and neither can we. Sustainable transportation is a core commitment of our climate action and resilience plan adopted this year and this is what is keeping that commitment looks like."
Dig deeper:
Supporters of the program have previously said that throughout its operation nearly 5,000 people in the metro area had used the Evie program to commute.
According to Her, Evie offered roughly 670,000 trips before its closure.
However, following the shutdown, commuter options have now become limited.
Big picture view:
Meanwhile, the City of St. Paul is facing a $26 million budget deficit, as Mayor Her is proposing a 2027 budget with a 6.8% property tax levy increase to help pay for city services.
The increase would mean an additional $58 for a median value home annually.
Mayor Her said the city had originally been looking at a more than 12% increase but was able to pull back that figure.
The backstory:
Originally launched in 2022 as an alternative to options such as Lyft and Uber, St. Paul initially contributing $725,000 and Minneapolis $325,000 to begin services throughout the Twin Cities area. As of its latest budget, Minneapolis still provides support on an annual basis.
However, its parent nonprofit, Hourcar, says that due to rising insurance costs and cuts in federal funding, the program was no longer financially sustainable.
After shutting down operations, the nonprofit laid off all of its 21 employees in the process.
The Source: FOX 9 reporting from a Mayor Kaohly Her press conference on Oct. 29, 2026.