British Columbia’s EV tipping point may be closer than you think. When you factor in the cost of gasoline, the average electric vehicle is already substantially less expensive that a gas car. Level three charging stations, capable of delivering an 80% charge in 30 minutes, are creeping up the east coast of Vancouver Island, BC. There are now seven stations along the coastal route between Sidney and Campbell River and sixteen in the Greater Victoria area. (In addition, there is a Tesla Fast charging station in Nanaimo and another planned for Campbell River.) Now even people in remote locations like Cortes Island are going electric. On Saturday, April 12, 2019, three of the island’s six (and counting) E-car owners explained why electric is better — even on a remote island.
There are already cyclists pedalling the city’s streets. Many of the streets have bike lanes. The Galloping Goose stretches from the Johnston street bridge to Leechtown, north of the Sooke Potholes Regional Park. Someone I met outside a coffee-house on Fisgard street said his only means of transportation, for the past twenty years, has been a bicycle. So what is the significance of Victorias first dedicated bike lane?
Bicycles have dominated Vancouver’s Rush Hour Challenge ever since the event began, in 2009. According to statistics from HUB Cycling, bikes came in first 73.3% of the time, while cars have been first 16% and transit 11% of the time. This year, bicycles once again triumphed in Vancouver’s Annual Rush Hour Challenge ( formerly known as Vancouver’s Share the Road Challenge).
Germany is building out an EV fast-charging infrastructure. Two months ago, the European Commission decided “Germany’s scheme to roll out a network of user-friendly infrastructure for charging electric vehicles across the country is in line with EU state aid rules.” The government will invest €300 million (nearly $320M US) and two-thirds of this is designated to accelerate the development of a fast charging network. The buildout started long before any announcement of Government funding. 292 units were installed last year. The first Fastned EV Fast Charging stations will soon be under construction.
Everyone knows that B.C. Ferries is losing money. According to their press release last November, the supposedly “publicly owned company” was $1.2 billion in debt. Yet this morning Claire Trevena, the NDP critic for transportation, announced that an NDP Government would reduce some ferry fares.
