Channel Island Jersey installs first e-car club EVie
The British Channel Island Jersey now has its first electric car-sharing up and running. The service called EVie is starting with four vehicles and hopes to have 20 operating by the end of the year, expanding to 40 by the end of 2021.
The EVis scheme is starting with three BMW i3 electric cars and one van located at four parking spaces in the Parish of St Helier on Jersey. Car club members will have to download an app to be able to book the cars from £7.50 an hour.
There are no charging points installed at the carpark yet so that EVie will take the electric cars away at the end of the day for overnight charging, EVie founder and chairman Gavin Breeze told the BBC.
He added the range of the vehicles “would not be an issue” on the island that is no bigger than 14km by 8km.
The businessman has a supporter in Parish politician Constable Simon Crowcroft who considers such a club “entirely consistent” with government plans “to address the climate change emergency and reduce our carbon emissions”.
EVie also plans 100 dockless electric bicycles on the island in the future. More so, the company hopes to increase the car fleet to 20 electric vehicles by the end of 2020. They also expect that the number will double again in 2021.
The scheme is initially being rolled out in St Helier, but Breeze expects to expand to other parts of the island in future.
Latest by then, we would expect to see some charging infrastructure. Indeed in other news, the British government has doubled its funding for the installation of charging points on roads in residential areas next year to 10 million pounds, the equivalent of 11.75 million euros as reported. This could finance up to 3,600 new charging points across the country, perhaps also on Jersey.
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