When Richmond’s Novex Couriers unveils its two new electric trucks June 24, the province will move closer to a time where electric vehicles rule at least part of the road.
But much more still needs to be done when it comes to building the public charging infrastructure needed to power the electric vehicle fleets of tomorrow.
Novex president Ken Johnston told BIV Wednesday that the province needs to pick up the pace when comes to developing the infrastructure required to recharge electric vehicles.
“We’re looking for infrastructure to be available certainly in the downtown core,” said Johnston. “[EV charging stations] have to be everywhere – they have to be like gas stations.”
Novex currently has two charging stations, one at its headquarters in Richmond and the other at a partner’s facility in Burnaby. Whistler has a power point as does BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver to recharge the three iMiEVs provided by Mitsubishi. There are few other recharging options currently available.
Electric vehicle operators like Novex, which is adding more such vehicles next year when Vancouver’s first order of Nissan Leafs arrive, are limited in how rapidly they can grow their fleets.
Learn more about the steps being taken to create a refueling network for electric vehicles in B.C. in next week’s print edition of BIV.