Ryde Council set to buy electric vehicles and install charging stations
A council in Sydney’s northwest is set to begin the process of updating its fleet of cars with electric vehicles and installing charging stations.
Northern District Times
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Ryde Council is set to plug into the global electric-vehicle push by transforming its own fleet of cars and building infrastructure to support it.
Driven by Greens councillor Christopher Gordon, the electric-vehicle innovation project would cost $370,000 over the next two years.
Under the plan, which is expected to be voted on by councillors next month, the council would buy two electric vehicles and install charging stations at Meadowbank, Top Ryde and Macquarie Park.
“This is about beginning the process to transform our fleet of cars into fully electric,” Cr Gordon said.
“It is inevitable that we go down this path. The changes in going to electric vehicles around the world are happening remarkably fast.
“Amsterdam, for example, is planning to ban all non-electric vehicles by 2030. By 2025, they are going to have 23,000 charging stations across the city.
“Australia is unfortunately dragging the chain on also going down this road.”
The Ryde move comes six months after Waverley, Woollahra and Randwick joined forces to become the first councils in NSW to provide subsidised on-street public charging stations for electric vehicles.
The issue was also hotly debated during the Federal Election campaign. The Labor Party, in its failed bid to win government, was calling for 50 per cent of new cars sold in Australia to be electric within 11 years.
“If we’re careful and cautious, it shouldn’t be too hard to make this transition to electric cars,” Cr Gordon said.
“It will be a cost saver for council and it is our duty to start preparing for this change.
“The world is changing and we need to get on board with it.”
Cr Gordon’s proposal is part of the council’s new Four Year Delivery Plan, which is on public exhibition until Friday.
Meanwhile, Cr Gordon will call on council tomorrow night to declare a “climate emergency”.
In a notice of motion at the council meeting, he will implore his fellow councillors to put environmental considerations at the forefront of all council decisions.
“While our federal and state governments drag their feet or even actively ignore the dangers of climate change, it becomes incumbent on local councils to do all we can in our local patch,” Cr Gordon said.
Darebin Council, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, was the first council in the world to declare a climate emergency in December 2016. Since then, more than 500 councils and governments around the globe have recognised the emergency.
Ryde Council has already committed to the use of 60 per cent renewables by 2030.
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