Prince George is now the first local government in all of BC to add the latest electric vehicle in its class to the fleet.
The City has purchased a 2018 Chevy Bolt to be used around town on a day-to-day basis and is expected to save more than 5,000 litres of gas and almost 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents.
City Supervisor of Energy and Environment Josh Kelly believes this will encourage local residents to decrease carbon emissions.
“They’re great fo those short trips around town and I mean that’s 95% of the driving that a lot of people do; a quick trip from home to work and electric vehicles are great for that. Those should be considered until we get that charging infrastructure to connect up the province and get those last few larger trips.”
However, the need for more electric vehicle charging stations is more prominent than ever according to Kelly.
He adds the City is continuously trying to implement more stations themselves, but it’s not that simple when it comes to highway infrastructure.
“I think this addition will be a big help in encouraging people to get vehicles like this in the community, and that know they can travel longer distances. That being said, it’s also a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, like, does the charging come first before the vehicles or does the vehicles come in then increase the demand for charging.”
The addition of the Chevy Bolt is also part of the City’s strategy in improving air quality and the surrounding environment.