The Rural Municipality of Ritchot is targeting April to launch its rural car share initiative. That is according to Economic Development Officer Ryan Faucher.
It was last July when our provincial government announced $150,000 for the initiative. Faucher says with the money, they would like to establish a "self-service public transit option."
Faucher says in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot they do not have bus service and really cannot rely on taxis. He adds there is really no way for residents to get around when they need a vehicle for a couple of hours or for a day. Faucher says this rural car share initiative is a pilot project that will help serve that need.
He explains that Ritchot is looking at making available a few vehicles throughout the municipality for residents needing one in a pinch. They are hoping to place one vehicle in each of the communities of Ile des Chenes and St. Adolphe and then potentially in Ste. Agathe or Grande Pointe. These vehicles will then be made available for residents who need one for a short period of time, such as someone needing to get to work when their regular vehicle might be down for the day.
Faucher says the commitment is that these will all be electric vehicles. And, he says they will all likely be different types of vehicles. For example, one community might have an SUV or minivan, while another community could have a car, and another community a pickup truck.
"We are trying to give people different options," he says.
Faucher adds there is also an education component involved with this initiative, noting many people are skeptical of using electric vehicles in our harsh winter climate.
"Right now, we do have one vehicle that we've been testing for the last month," he says. "Just through the harshest part of the winter to try and get an understanding of how it will work in the communities."
Again, Faucher says their hope is to have the program in place for April. He notes they want to bring on a summer student to help get the vehicles in the communities and get people test driving them.
Faucher says the RM of Ritchot has made a conscious effort in recent years to set itself up for electric vehicles. He notes the municipality currently has an electric charge station in each of the communities of Ile des Chenes, Ste. Agathe, St. Adolphe and Grande Pointe. Ritchot is also in the process of commissioning a 50-kilowatt DC charger in Ile des Chenes, in order to make available a high-speed charger for residents.
Faucher says he expects this program will be well received by residents but admits that it might take a bit for things to catch on.
"The experience I've had is once I've had a person sit down in the electric vehicle, we have had them go for a drive, they kind of fall in love with it, the comfort level goes through the roof," says Faucher.
He adds if they can get these vehicles to community events such as festivals or farmers markets, and have people take them for a drive, the demand will pick up and take off.
According to Faucher, this program is largely funded through our provincial government. He notes they are also looking for assistance through our federal government. Faucher explains that Ritchot will own the vehicles and they are hoping that some neighbouring municipalities might get on board with this project in order to offer a small fleet of vehicles to residents.