Montreal continues to electrify transportation

The city of Montreal on Monday unveiled a $ 885 million plan to reduce the metropolis’ environmental footprint and accelerate transportation electrification.

Alice Girard-Boss
Tap

The Transport Electrification Strategy from 2021 to 2023 focuses on decorbonization solutions for public transportation, personal transportation, shared mobility and freight.

“Sustainable mobility and the tools needed to achieve this action plan based on diverse resources and partners [à la carboneutralité d’ici à 2050] ించబడింది, proclaimed Montreal Myers, Valerie Plante.

Public transport

Currently, there are 1,900 electric BIXI bikes in Montreal, of which 725 are included in 2021. These bikes represent more than 20% of BIXI aircraft. It is the largest collection of electric bikes in the country.

At the end of the action plan, 200 new electrical auxiliary BIXIs will be added. They are served in 19 boroughs in the metropolis.

The city supports the Society de Transport de Montreal (STM) for the electrification of its bus planes and garages, but also on projects such as the Metro Blue Line extension in the east. In total, 84% of trips made on the STM network use electricity.

Valerie Plante also wants to add an additional 250 electric taxis.

Vehicle charging

The new strategy is to facilitate vehicle charging access. Since 2014, the city of Montreal has installed nearly 1,000 Level 2 public charging stations, 7 kW stations, and plans to install at least 600 more by 2023.

The city of Montreal also plans to add 60 fast public charging stations with Hydro-Quebec to set up charging hubs in public parking lots.

The city will support businesses to participate in the expansion of charging stations for their employees and establish a regulatory framework for installing the necessary equipment for charging in new residential buildings.

The strategy aims to achieve an average of 40,000 recharges per month.

The city of Montreal also hopes to replace all municipal sub-compact vehicles with similar electric models by the end of their useful life. Electric models are also suitable when replacing other municipal vehicles. If this is not possible, more environmentally responsible vehicles and equipment are preferred.

“An ambitious and very concrete plan”

The Montreal Transportation Electrification Strategy was welcomed Monday. “In the plan that came out today, we hit the right nail. This is an ambitious and very concrete plan,” said Andrian Brezau, a mobility analyst at Equiterre in an interview. Tap.

She describes the scheme with foresight, especially in the case of sophistication. “We have questioned the size of the vehicles, especially the administration. So we have identified that overcrowding is a problem,” she said.

“The countdown has begun to end the sale of gasoline vehicles in 2035,” Blaise Remillard, transport and urban planning manager for the Montreal Regional Environment Council, said in a press release. With this strategy, the city of Montreal is emphasizing its leadership position in electromobility without neglecting significant issues or harming extreme environmental modes such as walking and cycling. ”