There’s no doubt about it, the electric vehicle revolution is coming, and quickly.
But are we ready for it?
Not ready enough, would be our answer.
If the City of Duncan goes ahead with its downtown parking study, which it should, one of the issues on the agenda should be electric vehicle charging stations.
The city isn’t in a bad position right now with how many stations they have (several right in the heart of town at the train station, in City Square at Coronation Mall and at the Island Savings Centre, with more at the BC Forest Discovery Centre) but if the expected boom comes (at least one analysis predicts that electric and hybrid cars will be cheaper than conventional vehicles by 2022, meaning we’ll see a lot more of them on the road), those will obviously not be enough.
We imagine what are now private gas stations will begin to take up some of the slack as the changes progress, for a fee naturally. But that model doesn’t currently exist.
One of the issues will be whether there is a significant change in the range of electric vehicles — how far they can travel before they need a charge. Right now, that range is limited enough that people will need to be able to fill up, so to speak, en route if they are travelling any kind of distance.
Toshiba came out with exciting news this week that they’ve produced a battery that can charge in as little as six minutes. Whether this turns out to be commercially feasible is still up in the air. A quick charge battery would no doubt change the charging landscape, particularly in terms of businesses wanting to get in on the action.
But with current technology, we’re looking at many, many more vehicles clamouring for charging services, and it’s something our communities are going to need to plan for.