The Lakewood and Lawson Civic Centres in Saskatoon now feature brand-new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations available to the public at no charge..In its announcement, the city said the initiative aims to help individuals transition from gas-powered vehicles to EVs.. EV chargingEV charging .“We are piloting these at two locations to help inform our future plans for EV charging infrastructure and to share these lessons with Saskatoon’s business community that also might be considering investing in EV infrastructure,” said Amber Weckworth, manager of climate, strategy, and data for the City of Saskatoon..“We know using electric vehicles isn’t the silver bullet in terms of climate change action, but simply put, EVs do ultimately result in lower greenhouse gas emissions and better air quality.”.According to the city, Saskatoon currently has more than 30 charging stations for the “growing community” of EV owners, with approximately 650 battery and plug-in hybrid EVs in the city..The city said the adoption of EVs is projected to continue to grow. .It highlighted the city's Low Emissions Community Plan, which aims to achieve 30% of all new vehicle sales being EVs by 2030, increasing to 90% by 2050. .The targets show the city's commitment to promoting “sustainable transportation” and “reducing emissions.”.The pilot project allows vehicles to be plugged in for up to three hours for a free charge. .The city will evaluate the system's effectiveness after two years..“The reason that we’ve made them free for now is really so that we can test out how it works,” said Weckworth..Weckworth acknowledged the three-hour limit might not fully charge an EV, but it would provide an approximate range of 120 kilometres..“It’s a nice top-up if you’re using the leisure centre or walking over to the mall,” said Weckworth..Weckworth said if residents observe an EV exceeding the three-hour limit, they can contact the city’s customer service line and parking enforcement will be “dispatched to issue a ticket.”.As more EV models are released, younger people are increasingly choosing to buy them. .According to information from J.D. Power, a company that collects data on consumer behaviour, millennials are buying the most EVs, followed closely by Generation X. .Starting in 2019, Gen X has become the second-largest group of EV buyers, even surpassing the older Baby Boomer generation..The EV segment in 2022 had a higher proportion of male buyers compared to 2019. Only 28.5% of EV buyers were women in 2022, down from 29.1% in 2019. However, women make up around 40% of all automobile buyers..In January, the average price of an EV was $58,725, significantly higher than the industry average purchase price of $49,388.
