As Toronto ponders EV mandate for rideshare drivers, experts say they can't lead the charge without chargers

Charging infrastructure needed in residential high-rise buildings where many drivers live, advocates say

Cbc.ca
Sept. 28, 2023

If Toronto is to seriously consider a proposal that would require ride-hailing app drivers exclusively use electric vehicles, then experts say the city must urgently upgrade charging infrastructure in high-rise and multi-unit buildings.

After all, Ian Klesmer says, that's where many of them live.

Klesmer is director of strategy and grants at The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), a city of Toronto climate agency whose research, he says, has shown that many drivers who work for ride-hailing apps are also low-income earners or new immigrants whose apartment buildings would require upgrades to accommodate electric chargers. 

"This is actually a really important group that we think can lead on the electrification wave," he said.

The city has a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Last week, its economic and community development committee voted to consider transitioning the vehicle-for-hire industry to net-zero emissions by 2031.

Transportation represents one-third of the city of Toronto's total emissions, according to the proposal. Of that, about four to six per cent of those emissions come from rideshare trips.

An amended version of the proposal will go before city council on Oct. 11.

There will be "serious equity issues" if the city chooses to pass a law mandating electric vehicles but doesn't make charging stations accessible, said Olivier Trescases, the director of the University of Toronto Electric Vehicle Research Centre.

"That's a major problem the city needs to address if they're going to mandate that," he said.

Other jurisdictions 'much more EV friendly'
Maaz Inam, an Uber driver since 2016, told CBC Toronto he's concerned by the lack of infrastructure, the time it currently takes to charge a vehicle, and the cost of the vehicle itself.

That's in keeping with the results of an internal survey Uber Canada completed in December 2022, per a memo the rideshare company sent the city.

While more than two-thirds of the 2,000 drivers surveyed told the company they were interested in their next car being electric, all respondents had their reservations -- be it cost, long wait-times for a vehicle, a lack of government electric vehicle incentives, and charging concerns.

"The platform is not there," said Inam, who lives in Mississauga and drives passengers across the Greater Toronto Area.

He once drove a Tesla Model 3, and while he says it was impressive, the battery "was draining down pretty fast."

"You have to charge up to an hour to get a full tank," he said. Not to mention, if there are only a few charging stations "everyone's going to have to wait a long time to get their charging done."

People want to feel confident about charging EVs
James Nowlan, the city's executive director of environment and climate, says public consultations are ongoing. The goal is to try to better understand how much EV charging is needed in Toronto, where, and how soon.

Nowlan says residents want a public charging network so they can feel confident that if they purchase an electric vehicle, they won't have an issue "whether they're making short trips or long trips."

A consultation process may not be the best use of the city's time then, according to Trescases. He says the city should focus on installing chargers. Places such as Europe, British Columbia and some B.C. municipalities are "much more EV friendly," Trescases said.

In its memo to the city about the electric vehicle proposal, Uber Canada cautioned the recommendations would be difficult to achieve "without significant action from all orders of government."

Since December 2021, Toronto has required all residential parking spaces provided to people living in an apartment or condo be equipped with a clearly-marked, energized outlet with sufficient voltage to meet the U.S. Society of Automotive Engineers' standard. But installation costs time and money. 

"It's complicated to install, especially in old buildings," said Trescases, noting "we've seen how it should not be done."

Focusing on rideshare drivers could save money, carbon
Last year, TAF launched a federally-funded program  specifically supporting the implementation of electric chargers in multi-family buildings in the GTA and Hamilton.

Demand from building owners in Toronto has been "overwhelming," Klesmer said.

So far, the climate agency has allocated funding to 29 buildings, 10 of which have now had chargers installed.

Given that research shows ride-hail app drivers tend to be on the road four to five times more per year than the average commuter, Klesmer says it makes sense to focus on installing chargers where drivers live.

"They stand to save the most money and the most carbon by electrifying their rides as soon as possible," he said.

Klesmer says this is especially true as the price of gas has skyrocketed:

"The smart condo boards and the smart property landlords, they see the writing on the wall and they want to get prepared quickly to meet the needs of their tenants."