Pure electric car-sharing platform for Christchurch

The largest transition of combustion engines to pure electric shared vehicles in the Southern Hemisphere is set to get underway in Christchurch from November. Canterbury organisations and residents will soon have access to a pool of 100 pure electric vehicles, only one of a few cities internationally to offer a 100 per cent electric-powered car share service. Kiwi fleet management company, Yoogo, was selected by the Christchurch City Council to implement the service. Kirsten Corson, general manager of Yoogo, says the pure electric car sharing model breaks down barriers around cost and charging infrastructure making pure electric vehicles accessible and affordable. “Cantabrians will pay for the time they use the car and Yoogo takes care of everything else. Users can simply book online and access vehicles via the Yoogo app or swipe card,” says Corson.  The service will be available for Council, Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch Airport, some specified businesses as well as the general public. Initially the service will launch 70 electric vehicles across three city hubs in late November with 30 additional vehicles to follow in February 2018 across ten locations in total. Kevin Crutchley, Council’s Resource Efficiency Manager and project manager for this city-wide scheme, says “This new, innovative, 100 per cent battery electric transport service is an exciting development for Christchurch. New Zealand’s electricity is mostly generated from renewable energy so this electric vehicle offering will reduce our city’s carbon emissions. Also using a transport service with zero tail pipe emissions will improve air quality and have positive health benefits for the residents of Christchurch.” Meridian Energy will be providing the electricity for the scheme. Neal Barclay, their general manager says his company is a proud partner. “As New Zealand’s largest generator of renewable energy, Meridian is excited to work with like-minded businesses to increase the use of pure electric vehicles and reduce our country’s transport emissions.”  Pure electric vehicles to be used will initially include Hyundai Ioniq and BMWi3 vehicles.