CalVans gets California farmworkers to the fields safely, but now faces a state climate mandate to electrify its fleet.
A CalVans van parked in a field in a vineyard outside of Dinuba on May 2, 2024. CalVans is a nonprofit that provides safe vans for farmworker transportation. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight LocalThe CalVans program in the Central Valley transports thousands of laborers to the fields. It is now trying to meet a mandate to electrify its fleet — a key test of how to make the state’s climate policies work in rural and disadvantaged areas.
“It is essential that they don’t get left behind in a move toward zero-emissions vehicle technology and clean air,” board spokesperson Kate Lamb wrote in an email. “We need to look at alternative modes and alternative ways to get electric vehicle deployment in those communities,” he said.Large enough to carry a group of workers, but small enough not to require a commercial driver’s license, CalVans vehicles were selected specifically to provide farmworkers safe commutes while avoiding being classified as farm labor contractors who would be subject to costly regulations.
Rafaela Treviño sits in the CalVans van she uses to drive her coworkers, in a cotton field outside of Corcoran, on May 2, 2024. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
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