EV culture rising in Missoula

Mosabber Hossain

(Missoula Current) At a public electric vehicle charging station near grocery stores and hardware outlets in Missoula, Jason Thomas plugs in his car with a quiet sense of observation. There’s nothing dramatic about the station—no futuristic glow or digital displays—just a slim charging post and a blinking green light that signals something subtle but significant.

He watches the indicator come alive and smiles slightly. “You don’t expect to see something like this here,” he says. “But standing here, it feels like Missoula is shifting—slowly, but shifting.”

Scenes like this are quietly becoming part of Missoula’s daily rhythm. Electric vehicles, once rare, now appear in grocery parking lots, near trailheads, and outside university housing. There are no grand announcements or public countdowns to a clean energy future. Instead, change is showing up in small, familiar places.

Missoula is implementing an electric vehicle (EV) plan over the next few years to reduce emissions in the city.  According to the City of Missoula, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, and their partners have adopted ambitious goals, including becoming a carbon-neutral community by 2050 and reducing drive-alone commute share to 34% by 2045. While reducing the drive-alone commute share will reduce the community’s transportation emissions significantly, it will not get all the way to carbon neutrality.

The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan started last spring and implementation is phased from 2025– 2027 and 2028–2030, with ongoing actions throughout.

So, when the city began exploring EV infrastructure, it didn’t arrive as a polished technology showcase. It appeared through everyday additions: a charger beside the library, another at a co-op, and now one here on Old U.S. 93—embedded in routines rather than isolated as an innovation.

“We didn’t want EV access to feel like a separate thing,” said Devin Filicicchia, associate transportation planner with the City of Missoula. “It had to show up where people already live their lives—on grocery runs, afternoon commutes, Saturday errands.”

Today, Missoula’s public charging network has quietly doubled from last year, according to the city. There are 90 charging stations in Missoula. Missoula has a total of 12 DC Fast Chargers, 4 of which are free EV charging stations.

But Filicicchia said Missoula is old fashioned and the adaptation rate for new technology is not good. But statistics from the middle of 2025 saw more than 1,000 EVs registered in Missoula and the user rate is rising. "So we are thinking it works well so far," Filicicchia added.

But while progress is visible, it isn’t evenly distributed. Chargers cluster around central, well-resourced areas—university districts, downtown zones, commercial corridors like Mullan Road and Old U.S. 93. Yet toward mobile home parks, lower-income housing areas, and rural edges, the map fades.

This pattern has sparked an important conversation among local advocates.

“Early infrastructure almost always mirrors existing privilege,” said Melody Irvine, a community volunteer working on climate equity. “The real question is whether EV access will reach beyond that—into the places that don’t usually get upgrades first.”

For many Missoula residents, the decision to adopt an electric vehicle isn’t just about incentives—it’s about confidence in access Melody added.

To popularize the EV in Missoula, authorities are planning some incentives about the tax. Some all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles qualify for a federal tax credit. Tax credits up to $7,500 are available for eligible new electric vehicles and up to $4,000 for eligible used electric vehicles. Tax credits are available for home chargers as well, up to $1,000. Chargers must be placed in service before June 30, 2026, to receive the credit.

EV transports are not new to the city. As Missoula’s Mountain Line shifts to electric buses, 35-year-old bus driver Hamdu Mohammad said the change has reshaped both his work and his life—saving fuel refill time and cost and inspiring him to buy his own EV this year.

“I feel like I’m helping the environment, and it even saves my fuel refill time and cost also,” he says. “I’m happy every time I drive—both the bus and my own car.”