Can you feel the electricity?

I’m talking about electric vehicle charging stations popping up all over Oahu. I saw a few stalls at the Moanalua Shopping Center recently. There’s a stall at the state Capitol.

And just this week, Pearlridge Center became the first shopping center in the nation to offer complimentary electric vehicle charging, in a partnership with Volta Industries.

It’s a timely discussion, especially considering that gas prices are rising once again. Regular gasoline per gallon costs about an average $4.25 around Hawaii, the highest in the nation, according to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.

State Rep. Mark Takai, among the first owners of a Nissan Leaf vehicle, said he’s happy about more stations popping up, especially since it seems he’s getting only about 75 miles per fill-up, fewer than he expected.

Still, he wants more proliferation. He drives all over the island, logging more than 13,000 miles since getting the car early last year.

"Having them in town is a convenience, but one of the issues I’ve heard discussed of other EV owners is the difficulty going around the island, like going all the way to Waianae and back," he says.

As of late January there were 495 registered electric vehicles on Oahu. But Takai is pushing to encourage more residents to go electric.

Takai has introduced House Bill 2054, which would offer up to $5,000 in tax credits for electric vehicle users to make up for the tax credit from the federal stimulus law being phased out soon.

The bill isn’t making much headway in the Legislature now, but many other states, including California, Georgia and Illinois, offer tax incentives.

"It’s not a very expensive vehicle when you take into account the state and federal tax benefits," Takai says. "I estimate that in eight years the car will pay for itself, and I don’t think a lot of cars out there can do the same."

In other news, Honolulu Airport shuttle transportation provider SpeediShuttle is expanding its services.

SpeediShuttle was originally based on Maui but has now decided to put its headquarters on Oahu. The company will open its new headquarters next week, and now serves 80 areas on Oahu.

One person going from the airport to Manoa would cost $29.83. To Kaneohe or Kailua it would cost $48.37. The price decreases greatly as you add more people. A four-person party could go to Manoa for $35.80.

Reservations can be made at www.speedishuttle.com.

Reach Gene Park at gpark@staradvertiser.com or Twitter as @GenePark.