Authorities are moving ahead on offering places for electric vehicles to stop and charge up - and that's a good thing.
Along with provincial initiatives, we're going from a dearth of charging
stations to a sudden abundance, something that can only be good for those already driving - or considering buying - all-electric cars. Just last weekend Brentwood Town Centre installed a charging station in its parking lot.
An interesting point for those who don't have electric cars is the price: the electricity will be free at some stations, and available at cost at others.
If it cost the same amount to fill an electric car's batteries as it does to fuel a conventional car at a gas pump, we'd be up in arms about it.
But as it turns out, the dollar value is nominal. It's estimated that an electric re-fuelling will use about $2 worth of electricity.
Even with the shortened range of electric vehicles compared to conventional, that's a pittance. Providing a place where vehicles can get a relatively quick topping-up of their batteries is a good service that will start to reduce emissions that are not only causing global warming, but are damaging to human health. In the contentious arguing over climate change, it is often forgotten that air pollution, including that from cars, is still linked to lung cancer and asthma.
Welcome as they are, the vehicle charging services will be successful enough that more people will start buying electric cars, and that will get the private sector more involved.
We'll really know the electric vehicle movement is up and running when gas stations, coffee shops, or burger joints start installing their own electric chargers. When you can get an electric boost with a latté or a side of fries, that's when municipal stations should either retire their charging stations, or start charging for the power.
When you can make money off it, you know it's here to stay.
