An electric vehicle trailer launched in Vernon on Saturday (May 29) in hopes of sparking people’s interest in hitting net zero wherever they go.
Organized by the Sustainable Environment Network Society (SENS), a total of 27 electric vehicles participated in the awareness-raising initiative, including four vehicles from the city of Vernon and one of Vernon’s two new electric school buses.
Each vehicle featured a neon sign with the simple message: “E-Cars Benefit Our Climate”.
“That was the focus or the theme of our caravan, to show people that there are solutions to the problem of climate change,” said SENS Director Terry Dyck.
Traffic is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Vernon, according to the city’s Climate Action Committee. Dyck said he was glad that members of that committee were taking part in the caravan.
“The City of Vernon is doing its part by using electric cars.”
In the past few years the event took place in the parking lot of the Schubert Center, but in order not to attract an audience in the midst of COVID-19, the organizers decided on a slightly different roll-out.
“It was more of an event for people with electric vehicles to meet and show off their cars a bit.”
If a fleet of 27 electric vehicles seems small, the number of electric cars on the roads is only likely to grow in the years to come. As Dyck points out, most of the major auto companies are committed to phasing out vehicles with internal combustion engines. General Motors (GM), for example, announced at the beginning of the year that it would drive 100 percent electric by 2035.
The cost of buying an electric vehicle is a potential barrier to entry and, according to Dyck, government grants to encourage the purchase of electric cars can help. BC has a $ 5,000 rebate program, as does the federal government. There’s also the Scrap-It BC program, which offers residents up to $ 6,000 to scrap their old vehicle and purchase an electric vehicle through a participating dealer.
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Brendan Shykora
Electric vehicles
An electric vehicle trailer drove through Vernon on Saturday, May 29, 2021 in hopes of spreading awareness of the benefits of reducing carbon emissions in transportation. (Contributed).