Electric car share service for city
Up to 90 vehicles may be taken off Wellington’s roads with a new electric car share service launching today.
The company’s first three hybrid pool cars will be located in a row of special parks on Clyde Quay, where they will charge when not in use. People will be able to book the vehicles through their phones.
Mevo co-founder Erik Zydervelt said the car share service already had a waiting list for sign-ups.
‘‘We put out cars in threes around the city. To start with, you will pick up and return to the same locations. As we grow, we will work with Wellington City Council so we can move to a pick-up, dropoff system and eventually move to a free-floating system, ,’’ he said.
A fourth charging point will also be available at Mevo’s Clyde Quay location for privately-owned electric vehicles.
Zydervelt said the company’s Audi A3 e-trons would charge within two hours. ‘‘We estimate about 90 per cent of trips can be done on pure electric. A great deal of Wellington’s energy comes from Meridian’s West Wind project. It’s a fair thing to say that a lot of the energy going into the cars comes from Wellington’s wind.’’
Over the next year, Zydervelt plans to expand Mevo’s fleet to 50 cars across 64 charging stations, as well as launch a new car share in Auckland. ‘‘Projects like Mevo are setting the blueprints in place for a future of sustainable, accessible transportation.’’
He said most vehicles were in use only 4 per cent of the time. International studies had found that for every share car, up to 30 other vehicles were taken out of service as firms and residents found they no longer needed them.
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said the council was prioritising 100 car parks across the city for electric vehicle chargers and car sharing. ‘‘We want to encourage more sustainable transport and further establish our leadership in this area.’’
‘‘Projects like Mevo are setting the blueprints ... for a future of sustainable, accessible transportation.’’ Mevo co-founder Erik Zydervelt