Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in Ottawa-Gatineau

[Acajack]

Just noticed this morning that, as part of the expansion of the Carrefour du Versant Ouest shopping centre (corner of Montée Paiement and Gréber, right off the A-50), Hydro-Québec has installed a bunch of electric vehicle charging points in the Carrefour's parking lot. They are part of a very new (pretty sure of this) network of stations called the Circuit électrique.

These are the first such stations I have seen in Gatineau and I have not seen any in Ottawa either.

Does anyone know of any others?

[Ted]

MEC has just installed several in its new store parking lot, and City hall has just installed one.

[Kitchissippi]

MEC has them on the parking spots closest to the door.

[J.OT13]

And of course city hall.

[DEWLine]

Doesn't Place d'Orléans Mall still have such a station?

[wingman]

There are 4 in the parking structure at les Galeries de Hull. They have been there for quite some time. I have not seen any others, yet.

[KHOOLE]

Since we are discussing use of electric-powered streetcars in the forum's former Rockliffe CF Base thread, we may as well consider this:

STO will have a trial Chinese electric bus on the road for six months starting February 2013 (Quebec has had mini electric buses in its old section for a few years now, I think).

http://outaouais.monjeq.com/doc/tran...012-11-29-04#8


How about small electric buses circulating through Ottawa's downtown?

[rborba]

Originally Posted by wingman

There are 4 in the parking structure at les Galeries de Hull. They have been there for quite some time. I have not seen any others, yet.

I've been keeping track of all EV charging stations in the Ottawa-Gatineau region (as an owner of an electric car myself). Here's the list:

http://canadianleaf.wordpress.com/20...ttawa-finally/

[Postmaster]

Funny how everyone thought we would all be driving electric cars by 2000 and these are just now starting to pop up here and there. Important changes happen slowly, but at least they are happening.

[rocketphish]

Ottawa to host 19 new electric vehicle charging stations

The Canadian Press ~ OBJ
Published on July 13, 2016

Ottawa will be home to 19 new electric vehicle charging stations at 10 locations as part of the Ontario government's effort to encourage more residents to use electric vehicles.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the government said the network of public stations will help address "range anxiety" among electric car drivers who may be concerned about the distance their vehicles can travel compared to traditional vehicles.

The full network of stations will allow electric vehicles to travel safely across the province.

Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi called the announcement great news for drivers.

"With more public charging stations available, electric vehicle owners can now plan longer trips with more confidence that a charging station is as readily available as agas station is," he said in a statement.

The stations – which will be placed at more than 250 locations including highways, workplaces and public spaces – are all expected to be in service by the end of March next year.

The government says the $20-million investment in the charging stations comes from Ontario's $325-million Green Investment Fund, which supports projects that fight climate change.

The province provides up to $14,000 in incentives for electric vehicle buyers as it aims for electric cars to make up five per cent of new vehicle sales by 2020. It says there are nearly 7,000 electric vehicles currently on the roads in Ontario.

"By investing in charging infrastructure that is fast, reliable and affordable, we will encourage more Ontarians to purchase electric vehicles, reducing greenhouse gas pollution and keeping our air clean," said Steven Del Duca, Ontario's minister of transportation.

Ontario's announcement on Wednesday comes after Quebec announced last month that it will greatly increase the number of fast-charge stations for electric vehicles along one of the province's busiest highways.

Electric cars are still a niche market, with less than one per cent of global auto sales. More than 21,000 plug-in electric vehicles have been sold in Canada since 2011.

The plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt leads, followed by the all-electric Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf. Together they account for almost 70 per cent of sales.

Widespread adoption of electric vehicles has been hampered by consumer concern over the availability of charging stations, the time required to charge electric vehicle batteries and the distance that can be travelled between charging sessions.

The typical Canadian urban commute, however, is far shorter than the travelling range of many of today's plug-in vehicles.

In Ottawa, the electric vehicle charging stations will be built at these 10 locations:

• Ben Franklin Place – 101 Centrepointe Dr.
• IKEA – 2685 Iris St.
• St. Hubert – 2484 Boulevard St. Joseph
• McDonalds – 670 Bronson Ave.
• City of Ottawa Fire Administration Building – 1445 Carling Ave.
• Ottawa Public Parking Lot – 687 Somerset St.
• St. Hubert – 4010 Riverside Dr.
• Ottawa Park and Ride – 3347 Fallowfield Rd.
• Tim Horton's – 989 River Rd.
• Ottawa Park and Ride – 130 Earl Grey Dr.

– With files from OBJ staff

http://www.obj.ca/Local/2016-07-13/a...ing-stations/1

[rocketphish]

I don't understand the logic of the Park & Ride locations. I guess somebody doing a drop-off could get a quick (?) recharge, but couldn't somebody also plug in their car then hop on the bus downtown, leaving their vehicle taking up the charging spot all day long? What's the etiquette on unplugging somebody else's car if this happens?

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

I don't understand the logic of the Park & Ride locations. I guess somebody doing a drop-off could get a quick (?) recharge, but couldn't somebody also plug in their car then hop on the bus downtown, leaving their vehicle taking up the charging spot all day long? What's the etiquette on unplugging somebody else's car if this happens?

I'm not sure I understand the logic of any of the locations. They should be putting them at rest stops and other locations along highways that don't have rest stops.

[khabibulin]

3 1/2 year bump. Impressive!!

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I'm not sure I understand the logic of any of the locations. They should be putting them at rest stops and other locations along highways that don't have rest stops.

The focus seems to be on intracity travel. Which is I agree is somewhat odd, as intracity trips are generally short enough that people don't need to charge on the go; they can just do it overnight in their own homes.

Alternatively, perhaps one of the goals of the network is to make charging more easily available to people who can't/won't have chargers in their own home or parking spot.

Looking beyond Ottawa there are a fair number along intercity driving routes.. for example, there's one in Casselman and another in Kemptville.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Alternatively, perhaps one of the goals of the network is to make charging more easily available to people who can't/won't have chargers in their own home or parking spot.

I don't think it would even be useful for that. If you can't charge at home you have to go to Ikea or Mcdonalds every few days and hang our there for a while?

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I don't think it would even be useful for that. If you can't charge at home you have to go to Ikea or Mcdonalds every few days and hang our there for a while?

Good point. If that was the reasoning the logical locations would be at grocery stores or malls... those would actually be great! Hopefully Ontario can partner with Loblaws, Walmart, etc. in the future.

IKEA is a good place for one, though. IKEA is the sort of store that people tend to stay in for 30-60 minutes.. long enough that your car will be fully charged, short enough that you won't hog up the charger all day (like at a park & ride).

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

I don't understand the logic of the Park & Ride locations. I guess somebody doing a drop-off could get a quick (?) recharge, but couldn't somebody also plug in their car then hop on the bus downtown, leaving their vehicle taking up the charging spot all day long? What's the etiquette on unplugging somebody else's car if this happens?

I see your point, but park and rides near the edge of the city will allow those commuting from out of town (and thus at the edge of their range for a round trip) to recharge while at work to ensure they can get home. Optimally they would have sufficient chargers for everyone who needs them to use and they could be standard chargers.

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Good point. If that was the reasoning the logical locations would be at grocery stores or malls... those would actually be great! Hopefully Ontario can partner with Loblaws, Walmart, etc. in the future.

IKEA is a good place for one, though. IKEA is the sort of store that people tend to stay in for 30-60 minutes.. long enough that your car will be fully charged, short enough that you won't hog up the charger all day (like at a park & ride).

Even better would be sit down restaurants off of the highway so people could stop to eat while their car recharges.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Good point. If that was the reasoning the logical locations would be at grocery stores or malls... those would actually be great! Hopefully Ontario can partner with Loblaws, Walmart, etc. in the future.

IKEA is a good place for one, though. IKEA is the sort of store that people tend to stay in for 30-60 minutes.. long enough that your car will be fully charged, short enough that you won't hog up the charger all day (like at a park & ride).

But how often do people go to Ikea? (Besides the seniors who go for breakfast every day). If the objective is to provide charging for people who can't charge at home, then the chargers should be somewhere people can leave their cars overnight (municipal lots, residential streets) or during the day (workplaces, park and rides). If the objective is to alleviate some of the range issues then the chargers should be places where people can stop between cities (rest stops, restaurants, motels, campgrounds, tourist attractions, etc). This proposal accomplishes neither of those objectives, other than a political imperative to want to be seen to be doing something that sounds like it might be good for the environment.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by acottawa

This proposal accomplishes neither of those objectives, other than a political imperative to want to be seen to be doing something that sounds like it might be good for the environment.

Given how quickly this whole thing happened--the province announced they'd be funding charging stations only a few months ago, they put the locations up today, and they'll be up in March--politics is clearly the reason.

That said, they are handy to have around, and given how cheap the program is--a measly $20M--I'm not too fussed.

[TransitZilla]

As far as I can tell from the map on the website (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/veh...-ontario.shtml) none of the ONroute service stations have electric charging stations.

That seems like kind of an obvious oversight... it seems they would be the perfect place for these.