Cleaner, cheaper congestion

Tired of backseat driving in Montreal cabs? Looking for a cheap alternative? If Luc Couillard has his way, you’ll soon have access to 120 electric cars parked strategically throughout the downtown core.

“We will save 1,224 tons of greenhouse gases with the three-year project,” says Couillard, project manager of the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), a branch of the provincial Transport Ministry that encourages alternative modes of haulage like carpooling, train riding, walking and metro. Couillard tested the program himself by driving an electric car from the Jean-Talon Loblaws to his AMT office downtown everyday for two weeks. “That’s the perfect car for downtown car sharing,” says Couillard. “The average speed downtown is 13 kilometres per hour, and electric cars can’t go faster than around 50.”

If the project goes through, rides can be reserved by phone and picked up from one of 30 downtown spots. The electro-car would be used for several hours and then ditched within specified downtown limits. Each car will come equipped with a global positioning system so a flat-bed Ford Ranger truck can pick it up and carry it back to a power station.
The project is based on similar electric car sharing schemes in Europe and Atlanta. Couillard says he is waiting to learn the results of a Transport Canada R&D grant proposal that could get the project rolling in about a year. No word yet on cost. :

—Craig Segal