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Florida redirects $200M EV charger funds to build air taxi landing pads
Florida plans to use nearly $200 million in federal EV charging funds to build 32 landing pads with charging stations for electric air taxis, connecting golf courses, luxury apartment buildings, and airports. The state never spent the money, arguing private companies have built sufficient charging networks.
The Florida Department of Transportation has proposed redirecting nearly $200 million from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to construct landing pads for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs. The pads would include charging stations and link destinations such as golf courses, luxury apartment buildings, and airports.
Florida received the funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law but has not used it for EV chargers. State officials claim private companies have sufficiently covered EV charging needs. Notably, only one state has more EVs than Florida, yet Florida has fewer chargers per vehicle than the national average.
The NEVI program, under updated federal guidance, allows states with "fully built out" EV charging corridors to reallocate funds to other publicly accessible EV charging locations. Florida is using this flexibility to shift money toward air taxi infrastructure instead.
The eVTOL market is still nascent. Startups have made progress toward production-ready aircraft but have also begun pivoting to defense applications. Florida DOT hopes the four-to-five-passenger aircraft will ease the state's notorious traffic congestion.