Ritchot takes first steps towards EV car share initiative

Jul 21, 2023

Thanks in part to funding from the provincial government’s Conservation and Climate Fund, the RM of Ritchot will soon be creating an electric vehicle (EV) car share program for their residents.

Provincial funding to the tune of $150,000 will be split between the RMs of Ritchot and De Salaberry and the Village of St. Pierre-Jolys, all working collaboratively toward the same goal.

The intermunicipal collaboration happened as a direct response to the Southeast Regional Transportation Initiative (SRTI), a program intended to address public transit issues and seek solutions for Manitobans living in the rural southeast.

The SRTI came about after a series of discussions took place between the RM of Piney and Eco-West Canada. Over the course of the next year, rural communities throughout the southeast were invited to get on board.

“Public transportation isn’t only for people living in cities,” says Melanie Parent, coordinator for the Piney Community Resource Council. “It’s a service deserving of all Manitobans, both rural and urban. Improving public transit is about giving residents of southeast Manitoba the freedom of equal access to social, health, and economic opportunities that enhance our quality of life.”

Ryan Faucher, economic development officer for the RM of Ritchot, was quick to buy into the philosophy of the SRTI. Ritchot is now considered the lead municipality between its regional collective, which includes De Salaberry and St. Pierre-Jolys.

“There’s actually two spinoffs occurring [from the SRTI talks],” says Faucher. “One is the car share that we’re doing and the RM of Piney is doing one that addresses a seniors handi-van aspect.”

The concept being adopted by the Ritchot municipal collective will look much like Winnipeg’s Peg City Car Co-op. They all hope to purchase one or more EVs for their region that could be rented to residents at a nominal cost.

According to Faucher, the RM of De Salaberry is looking to host their car share program at the local seniors complex, providing a way for seniors to get around independently without the need for car ownership.

In Ritchot, Faucher anticipates making the program available to every resident by placing at least one electric car share vehicle in each of the communities, including Howden.

“Residents would be able to rent by the hour and by the day,” Faucher says. “It’s basically a form of affordable public transit… because that’s one of the things that’s generally lacking once you leave the perimeter.”

This publicly owned car share program, in general, will pave the way for local families to cut back on the number of personal vehicles they need to own.

“Looking at multifamily [development] parking in communities, you might go by apartments where people are parked on the highway or parked on the street because everybody has that second or third vehicle.”

Oftentimes, he says, the second and third vehicles owned by a family are not daily commuters. Instead they provide occasional wheels when one vehicle just isn’t enough, like getting to occasional medical appointment or driving the kids to a game.

“They may have a truck just so that they can go and get that sheet of plywood once per year,” says Faucher. “So we’d be providing something in the communities where people can make that big shopping trip to Home Depot or Costco to get the bulkier items.”

Statistically speaking, Faucher says that, for every car share vehicle a community can provide for its residents, 11 privately owned vehicles can be eliminated.

And reducing the number of vehicles each family owns comes with massive economic benefits as well.

The average cost of owning a vehicle today comes to around $8,500 per year. With insurance alone averaging around $1,200 to $1,500 annually, it’s a steep cost to pay for the luxury of owning an infrequently used vehicle.

With environmental sustainability being on everyone’s minds these days, it only makes sense to get a car share initiative off to an ecologically sound start.

“Part of this [initiative] is to look at it as an accelerator for EV adoption,” says Faucher. “There’s still a lot of hesitancy in Manitoba and obviously in rural [areas] about the viability of EVs. So this gives the opportunity for people to see them and take them for a test drive to experience them, rather than having to make the commitment of buying a vehicle that they’re not sure of.”

According to Faucher, EV vehicles vary in price between around $50,000 for a base model SUV to $100,000 for a multi-passenger van. The provincial funding received is merely seed money to help get the program jumpstarted.

The Ritchot collective is also applying for other grants which have been made available through the Green Municipal Fund and the federal government’s Rural Transit Solutions Fund.

If the applications are approved, the capital cost of all the vehicles and some charging stations will be fully covered.

In the end, Ritchot will run its individual car share programs at the locations of their charging stations. The TC Energy Centre would be the location in Île-des-Chênes while St. Adolphe’s ride share vehicles would be stored at the civic centre.

Ste. Agathe residents will find their car share at the arena and Grande Pointe’s would be located at the clubhouse.

“We’re looking at a mix of vehicle types, depending on community demographics,” Faucher says.

He anticipates that at least one of the vehicles would be a multi-passenger van which could be put to use by many of the local sport teams or clubs. Another could well be a pickup truck for times when a load needs to be hauled.

As for administration of the program, Faucher says details have not yet been finalized. It’s possible that each community may be responsible for their own management. Alternatively, the three collaborative municipalities may choose to have one centralized administrator act as a kind of fleet coordinator from the Ritchot municipal office.

Assuming government grant funding comes through for them this fall, Faucher says the rollout will begin very shortly afterward.

“We’re hoping to [start with] a demonstrator vehicle to work out the kinks and stuff before the end of the year and then we’ll look at a full rollout next spring.”

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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