Tuesday July 19, 2022 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated July 30, 2022]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The Capital Regional District (CRD) is inviting residents across the region to get a hands-on feel for electric vehicles (EVs), e-bikes and EV chargers at a number of community events this summer.
It’s part of a federal campaign by Natural Resources Canada, to promote the transition to using electric-battery modes of active transportation.
“Transportation currently accounts for more than half of our region’s greenhouse gas emissions,” says CRD Environmental Services Committee Chair Barb Desjardins.
“And transitioning from fossil-fueled vehicles to electric and other low-emission modes of transportation is an essential part of fighting climate change,” says Desjardins.
Three local events — July 23, July 30 & August 13:
“With this in mind, the CRD has created an event program where families that are curious about EVs and e-bikes can have a lot of fun trying them out and getting their questions answered.”
In addition to outreach at a number of community events and markets throughout the region, several dedicated ‘Charge Your Ride’ test drive and ride events will take place to give residents an opportunity to experience both electric vehicles and e-bikes first-hand to help them decide if these technologies work for their lifestyles.
Three Charge Your Ride test-drive and ride events have been scheduled as follows:
- Saturday, July 23 at Belmont Secondary in Langford (3041 Langford Lake Road – 10 am to 4 pm)
- Saturday, July 30 at Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney (2243 Beacon Ave – 10 am to 4 pm)
- Saturday, August 13 at Camosun College Lansdowne campus in Saanich (3100 Foul Bay Rd – 10 am to 4 pm)
Additional details and event information, see www.crd.bc.ca/charge .
Prizes include a free E-bike:
Event participants will also have a chance to win a number of great prizes, including a FREE e-bike, at the end of the campaign.
At the bright blue tent, fill out a survey there to enter the draw for a CUBE Town Sport Hybrid ONE 400 e-bike.
The CRD is also offering free e-bike skills courses throughout the summer in partnership with Capital Bike.
Federal partnership with municipalities:
The CRD’s Charge Your Ride campaign, a partnership with the City of Victoria, District of Saanich, Town of Sidney and District of Central Saanich, received $224,000 in funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative earlier this year.
“We’re equipping Canadians with the awareness and knowledge they need to confidently make the switch to a zero-emission vehicle,” says the Honourable John Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources.
“Ensuring easy access to EVs across Canada is a critical part of our plan to lower emissions and achieve our climate goals—putting more Canadians in the driver’s seat on the road to a net-zero future.”
The federal government has made three battery-manufacturer plant funding support announcements in recent months.
Integration timeline:
Once more people are driving electric vehicles, more EV charging stations will be needed. As new construction comes on-stream, many will be pre-wired for the installation of EV-charging equipment.
Many municipalities are setting up more EV charging locations in public locations, such as the 20 new EV stations in Saanich announced earlier this year.
And of course vehicle repair shops will be part of the landscape for keeping those cars on the road. In spring 2021, the BC government announced that electric vehicle technician training was being expanded to three more campuses: Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus, College of New Caledonia’s Prince George campus and Camosun College’s Interurban campus in Victoria. Until 2021, the Red Seal training for EV maintenance had been taught only at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) in Vancouver.
Local repair shops:
So far, it looks like local vehicle repair shops are not immediately jumping on changes to their shops or personnel for handling the maintenance and repair of electric vehicles.
- At Dumont Tirecraft in Sooke the thought is “not anytime soon”. Long-time shop owner Jason Dumont takes pride in the specialized work of his team on gasoline-fuel vehicles of all types including cars, trucks, recreational vehicles and mowers.
- At Fountain Tire in Langford manager Cole Poole says “at some point we’re going to have to” but “as of right now we don’t have the equipment of the education for the mechanics” to service electric vehicles. Poole sees a five, 10 or 20 year timeline for that process.
- Earlier this year, a Tesla electric-vehicle service center in Langford was announced, set to come on-stream in June 2023.
===== RELATED:
Electric vehicles necessary to hit climate targets (April 12, 2022)
Trudeau promises national network of EV charging stations (April 11, 2022)
Langford groundbreaking for new Tesla depot (March 3, 2022)
Saanich celebrates 20 new EV charging stations (January 12, 2022)
Funding to promote electric vehicle uptake in BC (January 9, 2022)
Electric vehicle technician training expands to three more campuses (March 29, 2021)
Electric vehicle charging proposed for all new Langford developments (December 18, 2020)
Rebates for switching to specialized electric vehicles (August 6, 2020)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends has been putting a socioeconomic spin on news of the South Vancouver Island region since 2008 (started as MapleLine Magazine, then morphed to Sooke Voice News, then West Shore Voice News before emerging as the islandsocialtrends.ca portal in mid-2020). Editor: Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. Assistant Editor: Molly Pearce. Photojournalist: Jalen Codrington. Local advertisers welcome. | Contact: 250-217-5821