Duration of pilot project: 2016–2019
Without the population or resources to support public transit or other transportation services such as shuttles and taxis, small and medium-sized municipalities looking to reduce the use of personal vehicles in their communities need to get creative. In 2016, the Société d’innovation en environnement (SIE) and YHC Environnement started a pilot project to introduce an electric vehicle-sharing system, partnering with the municipalities of Plessisville, Nicolet, Bromont, Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, Rivière-du-Loup and Sainte-Julienne.
Studies have shown that in Plessisville alone, three-quarters of the municipality’s fleet was used less than 3.5 hours per day, 50 percent of the time. Most of the vehicles (87 percent) were used for trips shorter than 40 kilometres. The other five participating municipalities showed similar patterns, with fleets sitting idle in the parking lot for long stretches of time.