Amtrak Lot EV Charger Project

Construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2026 and last three to four moths. Per City requirements, construction will only occur between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

The EV chargers will be installed in the northeast "sub-lot" bordered by Rey Road, State Street, and Montecito Street (indicated by the red star on the aerial image below). At various periods during construction, the sub-lot or portions of the sub-lot may be closed for construction and staging. Electrical power for the project will be supplied from the transformer on Rey Road, and this road may be closed for one or more days. All road and parking closures will be posted at least three days in advance.

Lot 13 entrances and exist at Montecito Street & Chapala Street (north side of the lot) and State Street & Yanonali Street (west side of the lot) and all other sections of the parking lot will remain open throughout construction.

This project is funded by $220,000 in state grants and will be completed via  public-private partnership with the EV charging provider DirtRoad. Through grant funding and the DirtRoad partnership, this project will be completed at no cost to the City.

Charging fees will be the same as those at other City-hosted public chargers. Charging fees vary based on time of day and season. Current charging fees are available at SantaBarbaraCA.gov/EVCharging.

Once this project is completed, the chargers will be available for the public to use 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Regular Downtown Parking fees (which include 75 minutes free parking) will apply to all users of the chargers.

Four 180 kilowatt (kW) Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFCs) will be installed. These chargers are capable of charging an EV in under 20 minutes. The chargers feature standard CCS-1 heads, and with an adapter can also serve CHAdeMO or NACS vehicles. The chargers will be on the DirtRoad charging network.