June 12, 2026 - Operation Frodo EV 2026

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for June 12, 2026, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry. 

This week I've been participating in an event called Operation Frodo. Frodo started in December 2022 when my friend Nik Miles lost his beagle, and he and his husband set out to bring another home to Portland from a rescue group in Omaha. They ended up bringing back four beagles, Frodo and Gala, who became part of their family and two others that found adoptive families in Portland. From there, Nik began recruiting other members of the automotive media community and the annual December Frodo run was born. Automakers loan us vehicles from their press fleets, and we get donations to the non-profit animal rescue rigs to cover costs and soon start building up a fleet of vehicles to place with rescues and shelters around the country to help relocate animals in need of new homes.  

Last fall, I suggested to Nik that we find a way to incorporate an EV into the effort. That became Operation Frodo EV 2026, which we concluded this week. Thanks to loans of a Cadillac Escalade IQ, Lucid Gravity, Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9, and a donation of charging credits from EVGo, 12 volunteer drivers transported 16 dogs 1,800 miles from Omaha to new homes in Portland and Seattle. 

While planning the journey, it became clear that public fast charging infrastructure across America has grown substantially in recent years. Even across the vast western part of the country, it was possible to find charging about every 50 miles or so.  I planned a route with stops to charge, use facilities and let the dogs out about 150 miles. Higher winds than expected and the impact of 80 mph speed limits in much of the west and multiple mountain climbs meant we had to add an extra charging stop on each of the final two days, but that proved to be uneventful. We found working fast chargers everywhere we went, including EVGo, Electrify America, and new Walmart chargers in Omaha.  Upon arrival in Portland, everything was working, and we handed over 16 beagles to new adoptive and foster families that will be caring for them through their remaining years. 

Thanks for listening.