Do you own an electric vehicle (EV) or have you been thinking about taking the plunge to purchase one?
There is definitely a growing demand for electric vehicles in our city. It is a hot topic whether Vancouver is doing enough to meet the demand by investing and motiving the building of infrastructure to support them through EV charging stations.
In March 2018, the City of Vancouver (COV) dramatically increased the percent of EV-ready charging stations. The mandate of 20% was increased to 100% of all new multi-family residential projects requiring they be installed.
In addition, COV has also implemented a charging station program, supporting additional public charing stations throughout the city. Read more about charing station installation here.
This change was based on the increase in consumer demand and the COV’s desire to be the greenest city in the world by 2020. We feel this new requirement for our city’s infrastructure is an excellent one, but wonder whether it is enough.
Some reasons why electric vehicles make sense in Vancouver:
- We live in a relatively dense city where most Vancouver-ites travel less than 30km per day. — As per City of Vancouver
- British Columbia has an electrical grid that is at > 93% renewable. — As per the Government of Canada
- Vancouver has had +70% year-over-year growth since 2011 of electric vehicles. — As per City of Vancouver
Benefits include:
- cost savings for residents because retrofitting these conduits at time of construction can save up >$3000 per station
- increased charging accessibility for EV owners
- convenience of refuelling at home, work, parking garages, parks and more
- reduction of carbon pollution
- improved air quality
- reduction of the use of fossil fuel vehicles in Vancouver
