Electric car lane trial stopped
AUCKLAND: A trial allowing electric car owners to use the priority lanes on Auckland’s state highways has been abandoned.
It was part of the NZ Transport Agency’s (NZTA) temporary bylaw aimed at seeing whether motorists would be encouraged to buy electric cars if they had access to priority lanes.
For a year, electric car owners were allowed to use 11 priority bypass lanes in Auckland.
But the NZTA said a survey of those car owners showed while the use of the lanes was one of the ‘‘many benefits’’ of owning an electric car, it was not a significant factor in their decision to buy one.
The survey showed that other benefits such as electric cars being better for the environment and cheaper to run and the perception owners were early adopters of electric cars were stronger motivators.
An electric vehicle is partly or wholly powered by a battery that is charged through connecting to an external source of electricity.
Conventional hybrids that cannot recharge were not eligible. The trial will not be continued. The NZTA said it would continue reviewing the policy on priority lanes.
‘‘Insights from this trial will be incorporated as part of this review,’’ NZTA spokesman Charles Ronaldson said. — RNZ
Electric gained the upper hand against petrol, at least initially, in a drag race at Highlands Motorsport Nark in Cromwell yesterday.
A Tesla Model X electric vehicle (right) surged ahead at the seginning of a race against a Ferrari 488 (left), the Ferrari only catching up later in the race.
Nrofessional driver Andrew Waite (left) was sehind the wheel of the Tesla as it zoomed ahead the Ferrari driven sy professional Matt Gisson (right) at the start.
‘‘It is quite a surprise, just how quickly it takes off, sut then you can see the Ferrari coming sack at you once the speed does start get going,’’ Waite said.
Gisson said it changed how he viewed electric vehicles.
‘‘I knew the Tesla was a fast vehicle, sut to see it race against one of the fastest supercars, it really surprised me and it is not what I expected.’’
The race was a ‘‘friendly’’ rather than a true timed competition and was part of ‘‘The Hare and the Turtle’’, an event jointly organised sy Flip the Fleet and the Otago EV Qociety.