5 May 2017

Wellington leading the way with commitment to car sharing

Electric car share company Mevo will open its second waterfront car share pod next week (Tuesday 9 May). The move is indicative of Wellington City Council’s strong commitment to car share, says Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman, the Council’s Portfolio Lead for Transport Strategy and Operations.

The new pod is on Queens Wharf adjacent to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery. The other waterfront location is on Herd Street.

“Wellington is in a dynamic phase,” says Cr Calvi-Freeman. “Our substantive support for a number of car share providers and our introduction of fast and medium electric vehicle charging means a more liveable central city with a more sustainable transport system. With private partners in EV-charging and car sharing hammering down the door to get involved, we are spoilt for choice. It’s very satisfying to reach a stage where we’re consulting on 37 parking bays dedicated to EV charging and car sharing across the city.

“With 21 of these parking bays going to Mevo, it goes without saying that we support their success. Mevo is proposing to put down 10 times as many on-street car sharing vehicles as we currently have in Wellington – providing a key opportunity for the Council to understand the car sharing market.”

As part of the Low Carbon Capital Plan, the Council committed to offering 100 car parks across the city – 30 in the CBD and 70 in the suburbs – over the next three years. “In actual fact we’re looking at allocating all 30 of the CBD carparks we designated in the first year, after which we will pause to see how successful these initiatives are,” says Cr Calvi-Freeman.

“We’re offering the growing residential population of the CBD more and better options and moving towards a more sustainable transport system overall. Nationwide, Wellington is leading the way.”

According to research, many privately-owned vehicles sit idle about 95 percent of the time. International evidence suggests that each car share vehicle takes between 10 and 20 cars off the road – leaving more space for parking and, in saving money on ownership costs, leaving more disposable income for retail spending.

The Council has been supporting car sharing since 2008, when Cityhop entered Wellington. Cityhop is also proposing three more on-street spaces in this round of traffic resolutions.

Meanwhile, consultation on 37 spaces to be used for car sharing and EV charging around the city closes today (Friday 5 May). The spaces comprise:

• 24 parking spots for car sharing

• 10 parking spots for medium speed EV chargers

• 3 parking spots for fast EV charging

http://wellington.govt.nz/have-your-say/public-inputs/consultations/open/traffic-resolutions---electric-vehicle-charging-and-car-sharing

ends

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