TPA to run Toronto’s burgeoning charging network
Toronto launched the ‘EV Charging Initiative’ and appointed the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) to run it. TPA, the largest municipality-owned parking operator in North America, just installed eight chargers in a parking garage as part of a more comprehensive plan.
The eight Level 2 chargers have been installed in one of TPA’s Green P parking facilities in downtown Toronto. The aim is to install over 300 off-street and 100 on-street chargers by the end of 2023, and TPA says it will install 117 more EV chargers at eleven parking facilities over the next few weeks. There was no information on the suppliers involved in the charging equipment.
The new facilities join 47 on-street chargers in the city’s residential and downtown areas. These were installed by Toronto’s Transportation Services Division, in partnership with Toronto Hydro, as part of a pilot project started in 2020. The TPA will now operate and maintain these chargers on-street level and below.
By 2025, TPA expects to have more than 650 EV chargers (Level 2 and DC fast chargers) in garages and lots and Green P on street-level locations by the end of 2024. As the operator of Bike Share Toronto, TPA will also install electric Bike Share stations where suitable.
“As demand for electric vehicle charging continues to grow, current and future EV owners expect a charging network that offers simplicity, speed, choice, and ease of use,” said TPA president Scott Collier in a press release. “As the largest municipally-owned commercial parking operator in North America, we have a tremendous opportunity to leverage our off-street and on-street portfolio of parking services to help drive EV adoption.”
Toronto Mayor John Tory added the EV initiative was “another example of the progress we are making moving our city forward and working on solutions to achieve our Net Zero emission goals”.
Toronto aims to reach net zero emissions by 2040 as part of its ‘TransformTO’ strategy and to have 30 per cent of all registered vehicles to be electric by 2030.
