Canterbury Bankstown Council takes charge of electric vehicles transition in the city
Electric vehicles could soon be a common sight on our roads with Canterbury Bankstown Council replacing their petrol and diesel vehicles and installing charging stations.
ELECTRIC vehicles (EV) could soon be a common sight on our roads with Canterbury Bankstown Council already replacing their petrol and diesel vehicles in stages and installing charging stations.
The new Hyundai Ioniq Electric is the car chosen by the council to phase out some of the petrol vehicles they are using.
According to council plans, there should be 10 electric vehicles in its fleet by the end of the year.
The council expects the fully-charged battery range to be 180km, with savings around 87 per cent a year, or around $450 per vehicle.
Five charging stations are at the Civic Tower and a sixth is to be placed in the newly-upgraded Canterbury Town Centre.
Mayor Khal Asfour said they are also keen to get local residents to use electric vehicles
“We are even going a step further by investigating whether members of the local community could be able to hire the EVs,” he said.
The mayor said the new vehicles have provided the council savings in maintenance and fuel costs in excess of $11,000 a year while the phasing out of petrol and diesel trucks and cars will be beneficial for residents.
“More than 10,000 residents told us in surveys, they want Canterbury-Bankstown to be greener and cleaner by 2028, with more environmentally-friendly initiatives that help protect our natural environment,” Cr Asfour said.
“The uptake of low emission and energy efficient vehicles can help build a more resilient city, with many additional benefits, including better air quality, less health issues and a higher level of amenity.
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“As a smart city, we are well placed to look at what we can do as an organisation to fill the leadership void, to lead by example and support our community in making this technology more accessible, better understood and trusted.”
The council was one of the five finalists for 2018 Australian Smart Cities Awards.
Meanwhile, the NSW Government will invest millions in fast charging points for electric vehicles, trial electric bus services and commit to more electric and hybrid government vehicles as part of the ongoing transition towards cleaner transport options.
The NSW Government’s Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Plan includes a $3 million co-investment in fast charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles on major regional corridors, and $2 million for new charging points in commuter car parks.
The NSW Government is leading by example in the uptake of electric and hybrid vehicles, committing to a minimum ten per cent of new government fleet vehicles being electric or hybrid from 2020.
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