There’s a push to get car buyers excited about electric vehicles with nearly 15,000 EVs registered here in Ohio.

Among the concerns in switching to electric from gasoline-powered vehicles is “range anxiety,” as the infrastructure for refueling electric vehicles has not matched the proliferation of gas stations. But Ohio is able to apply for as much as $140.1 million in funding to help change that.

As reported by Axios, Ohio already has 1,850 miles of “pending and ready EV corridors.” Among the “free” spots are some at Ohio Department of Transportation and Ohio Department of Natural Resources sites.

“We’re seeing a shift to electric vehicles underway in the market. Legacy companies are pivoting to new ways of doing business and startups are entering the sector,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks. “By installing these electric vehicle chargers at state facilities, Ohio will continue leading the way in the changing landscape of transportation. …”

Government is using the idea of range anxiety to start building “free” charging stations. Except, Ohio’s latest four state-owned locations are paid for by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Volkswagen Mitigation Settlement and ODOT.

According to Axios, the Biden Administration’s goal is a national network of 500,000 such public charging stations by 2030. Unless the bureaucracy treads carefully, it will not be long at all before half a million taxpayer-funded “free” EV charging stations are getting in the way of the private sector. That’s not a good plan.