Electric-vehicle pilot aims to charge up Vancouver streets

The City of Vancouver is launching an $800,000 pilot program to expand electric-vehicle charging stations in an effort to encourage the use of the zero- emission vehicles.

Up to 67 charging stations will be installed in various spots around the city by the end of 2013 — placing Vancouver firmly in the forefront in Canada, and possibly North America.

“The reality is Vancouver and B.C. are leading the country on this,” said Berry Vrbanovic, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which is kicking in $350,000 for the project.

Vancouver’s mild climate and traffic patterns make it the ideal location for the pilot, Vrbanovic said.

“It provides an opportunity for Vancouver to do a lot of groundbreaking work in the next couple of years and to learn from that in a way that can be shared with other municipalities as electric vehicles become more common in the marketplace,” he said.

There are about 100 electric vehicles now on Lower Mainland roads. Vancouver’s target is to have electric vehicles make up at least 15 per cent of all new-vehicle sales by 2020.

According to the city, 95 per cent of vehicle trips in Vancouver are under 30 kilometres, while 70 per cent are under 10 km. Fully charged electric vehicle batteries can travel 100 to 160 km.

The trial, dubbed Charge and Go Vancouver, will assess the opportunities, barriers and cost of installing the charging stations. It will also use the data collected to determine the best locations for future use.

The new stations will be in on- and off-street parking spaces, including at community centres, parks and new, multi-family homes.

A city spokeswoman said there are already charging stations at the Coal Harbour Community Centre and at a city-owned Easypark lot on West 10th near city hall. Both stations charge $1 per hour to charge a vehicle.