Report lays out plans to encourage use of electric cars in Toronto

Thestar.com
January 9, 2020
David Rider

A plan to dramatically jump-start Torontonians’ use of electric vehicles is gliding into city hall amid concerns over the city’s financial commitment and the provincial government’s policies.

Toronto’s proposed electric vehicle (EV) strategy, with 10 “broad actions” to accelerate the switch from gas-guzzlers to zero-emission vehicles gets its first airing Thursday at an infrastructure and environment meeting.

The report says getting all private vehicles electric by 2050, with ambitious targets en route, is critical to city council delivering on a promise to fight climate change and make Toronto carbon neutral by mid-century.

Vehicles are responsible for about 30 per cent of Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions. The plan aims to boost the number of electric vehicles from about 0.6 per cent now to 5 per cent by 2025, to 20 per cent by 2030 and to 80 per cent by 2040.

That “will require a co-ordinated effort to address the current barriers and enable necessary charging and electrical capacity infrastructure and upgrades to avoid disruptions in (Toronto Hydro) service,” states the city-commissioned report by Dunsky Energy Consulting.

Its proposals include:

• a big increase in the number of public charging stations, including on-street residential plug-ins for “garage orphans” who don’t have driveways;
• policies to explore partnerships to expand charging infrastructure;
• fast-tracking the greening of the city’s vehicle fleet;
• incentives or requirements to get electric “vehicles for hire,” including taxi and Uber rides;
• supporting electric car-sharing services in targeted neighbourhoods.

Sarah Buchanan, a program manager at Environmental Defence who participated in Dunsky’s consultations, called the proposed road map to electrification “ambitious and solid.”

“My concern is implementation -- how serious city council is about taking all those steps, because some of them have a price tag upfront,” said Buchanan, adding Toronto will need help from other governments and Premier Doug Ford’s government has “no plan” to boost EV ownership.

Canadian Press reported last month that EV sales in Ontario plummeted after the province’s 2018 cancellation of a $14,000 rebate on most models, but rebounded somewhat in spring 2019 after Ottawa introduced a $5,000 rebate, according to Electric Mobility Canada data.

The Atmospheric Fund, a regional climate agency that invests in low-carbon solutions, wrote to the city strongly supporting the new strategy and urging council to make quicker, bolder moves.

In 2017, Toronto council approved a pilot project to put charging stations on some residential streets with on-street parking, but no such installation has happened, said Bryan Purcell, the fund’s vice-president of policy and programs.

“We need to see a real commitment to the (electric vehicle) plan, to really accelerate these things and get them done with a sense of urgency that befits the climate emergency,” declared by Toronto last autumn, Purcell said in an interview.

Councillor Mike Layton, a former co-ordinator for the Green Energy Act Alliance, also expressed frustration with city staff over the delay in implementing on-street charging stations, speculating co-ordination between two city departments and Toronto Hydro could be an issue.

“Without city initiatives and money, we’re relying entirely on the market to make the switch,” to EVs, he said. “If we're not choosing to put money in, then we're clearly along for the ride and not in the driver's seat.”

City staff say the on-street charger pilot project will launch in 2020.

Council colleague Jennifer McKelvie, an environmental geoscientist, acknowledged the plan’s EV adoption targets are ambitious but said the city has to make moves so as many Torontonians as possible choose electric for their next vehicle, as she plans to do.

Nino Di Cara, a Beach resident, bought a Tesla 3 in October, after sharing use of another electric vehicle, and hasn’t looked back. His vehicle wasn’t cheap but energy and maintenance costs are lower and the Tesla is quiet and fun to drive, he said.

“The real issue is about public education, getting people better informed about EVs which are just a better solution,” Di Cara said. “People are pitching them as part of a climate solution, and that’s fine, but I think more people will get them when they realize it’s just a better way to get around.”