More than two years after President Biden signed legislation allocating $5 billion for a nationwide network of taxpayer-funded electric vehicle charging stations, the first one finally opened last Friday in Ohio, Joann reports.

Why it matters: Having convenient, reliable fast chargers along major highways is an important confidence-booster for people considering an electric car.

• But the government's effort to supply them is moving at typical government speed, while the privately funded buildout of charging stations continues separately.

Catch up fast: 2021's infrastructure law included $5 billion to establish the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, administered by the Federal Highway Administration.

• The intent was to give money to all 50 states to deploy fast chargers near federal highways.
• Once the highway charging network is complete, states can use remaining funds to deploy chargers elsewhere.

Where it stands: 26 states have made an effort to spend their share of the money so far, according to the Biden administration's new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, which was created to facilitate the EV transition.

• Of those, 17 are in the process of soliciting bids, while seven others have issued "conditional awards" for new stations worth $101.5 million.
• Ohio and Hawaii are the furthest along, with firm contracts in place, but only the one station in Ohio is up and running.

Zoom in: The first NEVI-funded station, which opened Dec. 8, is located at the Pilot Travel Center along I-70, on the western outskirts of Columbus.

• It includes four EVgo fast chargers under an overhead canopy, plus access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, food, beverages and other conveniences.
• It's the first of more than two dozen highway charging stations set to open in Ohio by the end of 2024.
• The state, which will receive $140 million in NEVI funding over five years, is already planning a second round of 25 additional charging stations.

Reality check: Ohio is an exception. Many other states are just getting started, if they're moving at all.

Between the lines: Bureaucratic challenges have slowed the charger rollout.

• The federal government, for example, first had to staff the new Joint Office to support the effort.
• It took more than a year for that office to finalize standards ensuring consistent plug types, charging speeds and payment systems with easy access for all. (Automakers' surprise decision to adopt Tesla's plug style complicated matters.)
• Another problem: State transportation officials, who are used to overseeing federal road and bridge projects, lack the resources and expertise to plan and manage charging infrastructure, says Loren McDonald, CEO of industry analytics firm EVAdoption.com.

Meanwhile: Utilities have their own challenges, he noted.

• Some of the sites chosen by states require new transformers or switches before chargers can be installed and powered up.
• Local construction permitting can take six to 12 months.
• In all, it can take up to 18 months for a charging station to be installed once a site is selected, industry experts say.

What they're saying: Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office, is satisfied with the pace of development.

• "This is exactly the timeline I was expecting," he told Axios. "I think the states are doing a phenomenal job."

The big picture: The federally funded chargers are just a small slice of a much larger picture.

• As of June 2023, private companies had committed about $24 billion to expand charging in the U.S., Klein said.
• That was before seven automakers announced plans in July to create a vast new network of 30,000 fast chargers.

Yes, but: The U.S. will need 28 million home and public charging ports to support a potential 33 million plug-in electric vehicles by 2030, per the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The bottom line: With 60,000 public chargers — including only 8,560 fast chargers — available today, the country still has a long way to go.

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The Biden administration announced Friday the largest federal investment in passenger trains in decades, Alex reports, with $8.2 billion in new funding for high-speed rail and other projects nationwide.

Why it matters: Rail travel is considered a relatively clean way to get lots of people from point A to B, especially compared with aviation — but the U.S. rail network is sorely lagging behind that of peer nations in Europe and Asia.

Driving the news: The big highlight here is two multibillion-dollar packages for planned high-speed rail projects.

• One would connect Las Vegas, Nevada, and Rancho Cucamonga, California (just east of Los Angeles) using electrified trains.
• It's expected to carry more than 11 million passengers annually, the White House says, with trips taking about two hours — half the typical drive time.
• It's being built by Brightline, a private train operator that's been expanding across Florida and is now setting its eyes westward.

The other would provide for high-speed rail travel between Bakersfield and Merced, California.

• The new all-electric trains "will produce zero emissions and be powered by 100% renewable energy," per the White House.

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Naborforce, an on-demand service for older adults in need of assistance, is expanding its mission and launching a Golden Intern program for "active retirees," Axios Richmond's Karri Peifer writes.

• The program could appeal to people who have retired from their primary careers but want to stay active and share their ideas and experience.

Why it matters: 1 in 6 Americans are 65 or older, and while many can't retire due to financial stress, some simply don't want to.

Flashback: CEO Paige Wilson founded Naborforce in 2018.

• It's a kind of TaskRabbit that connects seniors who need help with everyday tasks — like running errands or getting to doctor's appointments — with contractors, aka "nabors," who are able to assist.

What's happening: The golden internship program is a natural extension of Naborforce's core mission, VP Cary Wyatt tells Axios.

• Its first two golden interns — Jim Norwood, a 79-year-old retired entrepreneur, and Fran Smith, a 70-year-old retired technology teacher — are both former nabors.
• Now instead of driving for clients a few days a week, the two are putting their decades of career experience to work.
• Norwood is consulting on community outreach, while Smith is developing a user-friendly app for seniors.

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If your apps have been bombarding you with stats about your year in music, food, books or even language learning, there's a simple explanation: They're trying to capture a little bit of Spotify's marketing magic, Axios Markets' Emily Peck reports.

• Spotify Wrapped — a year-end analysis of your listening habits — is the Holy Grail of digital advertising, marketing experts say. Other companies are trying to mimic its success, but few have come close.

What they're saying: "It's definitely one of the classics — should be taught in every business school," says Jon Carden, chief marketing officer at real estate fintech company Fundrise.

Catch up quick: Spotify wasn't the first to do a year-end wrap-up.

• Strava, the running app, launched a Year in Sport a decade ago. Goodreads had a Year in Books version in 2013.
• Spotify got into the game in 2015. Wrapped didn't go viral until 2019, after the company optimized it for social sharing.

Apple Music launched its Replay feature that same year.

• PlayStation, Nintendo and even Duolingo joined in, sending out emails to users.

Yes, but: None of their efforts are as robust or popular as Spotify's version.

• Now seemingly everyone is doing it: Aldi — yes, the grocery store — tried something a few days ago.

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