Swaying toward EV mobility

EAA Treasurer is the founder of a successful car share company

Michael Peters in the passenger seat of a Sway Mobility Bolt

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Michael Peters, the CEO and cofounder of the electric vehicle (EV) car share service Sway Mobility, works with the Electric Auto Association (EAA) at the national level as treasurer, and at the local level as a “Lead Volunteer” for Drive Electric Northeast Ohio, an EAA chapter.

“So here’s how we’re different from ZipCar,” Peters said of Sway Mobility. “We’re all electric, we’re focused on increasing accessibility to EVs and to electric transportation in general, and we’re serving a specific community, even if it’s not the community most people think it would be.”

EVs aren’t only for rich people

Sway Mobility works in both urban and rural areas to promote EVs to drivers who may not otherwise consider them. 

“We partner with real estate developers, cities, and nonprofits to utilize government clean energy incentives, grants, and other sources of funding,” Peters explained. “One area of focus is apartment complexes, particularly ‘workforce housing,’ where the residents are technically above the poverty line, but often struggling to make ends meet. They need access to EVs so they can save on gas and car maintenance… and at the same time help the planet.”

Sway Mobility clients use the cars for shopping, medical care visits, or to just enjoy a park or the beach. Rental periods average approximately 1.5 hours in urban areas, and 2 to 3 hours in rural zones where clients are often traveling to the nearest town to access services. 

Attacking the problem 

The idea for Sway Mobility came in 2017, when Peters was working in sustainability with different neighborhoods in Cleveland. “I realized that families were spending more on transportation than they were on housing, and that many had to  travel to the suburbs to find employment,” he said. “To get a good job, you need a car. But to get a good car, you need a good job.”

“So that led us down the path to attack the problem. It prompted the car share concept,” Peters continued, adding that he eventually began negotiating with Chevrolet dealerships across the state for the best deals on Sway Mobility’s choice of vehicles, the Bolt.

Since spreading across Ohio, Sway Mobility has now moved its Bolts into Michigan and will soon be expanding into Indiana.

“In Detroit, we’re working in the Corktown neighborhood, where Ford has been developing Michigan Central, a new mobility innovation district around the old train station,” Peters said. “We’re one of six companies involved.” 

Student at Oberlin College in a Sway Mobility vehicle

Enrolling the whole family

The Peters family began its EV journey in 2016 with a used Fiat 500E that Michael imported from California.

“It was an experiment,” Michael remembered. “Could EVs work for our family? Well, the Fiat quickly became our preferred model of transportation.”

Peters’ daughters, who were 6 and 4 at the time, “Got a real kick out of plugging in the car,” he said. “I knew the charge cord is essentially a very safe extension cord. But one day it occurred to me that I would never let a 4-year-old pump gas.”

“It’s made the girls much more environmentally conscious,” he continued. “Of course, we talked about it as a family… how EVs aligned with our values. Pretty soon the girls became adamant that we always use the EV and leave our gas car at home.”

“We had one awkward experience when another family came over for dinner. Afterwards, we were walking them out to their SUV, and my 4-year-old blurts out: ‘Why do you have a pollution car?’”

The obvious choice for treasurer

Prior to relocating to Ohio, Peters served 20 years as an investment banker in New York where he focused on financing for green buildings and other sustainable projects. 

Once in Cleveland, he connected with Tim Benford, President of Drive Electric Dayton, who inspired him to join the Northeast Ohio chapter. Peters quickly became very involved and this year assumed his national EAA officer responsibilities. 

“I have a financial background, and I’ve been treasurer of other nonprofits in the past,” he said. “So the writing was on the wall.”