Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Dylana Milobar

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

BC Hydro report finds ‘range anxiety’ deterring electric vehicle purchases

Jun 15, 2019 | 12:23 PM

BRITISH COLUMBIA — A new report from BC Hydro has identified a major reason why people aren’t purchasing more electric vehicles.

Primarily, the fear of not making it far enough for out of town trips, also known as ‘road trip range anxiety’, prevents many British Columbians from buying an electric vehicle (EV).

The report, ‘Electric highway: Road trip range anxiety is pumping the brakes on EV adoption in B.C.’ finds nearly 70 per cent of people in B.C are hesitant to buy an EV because they don’t trust that it can be taken on out-of-town excursions.

The report notes that the majority of trips taken are actually less than 300 kilometres away, which is about how far the latest EV models can go on a single charge.

Besides range, a survey from BC Hydro found 7 in 10 BC residents are concerned about the availability of charging stations along routes.

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However, BC Hydro says they have a network of 58 fast-charging stations throughout the province- most within 300 metres of a major road or highway.

The charging network also supports many popular road trip routes, including Kamloops to Vancouver, Vancouver to Kelowna, Abbotsford to Whistler, Cranbrook to Revelstoke and Victoria to Tofino.

For a full rundown of the report, and tips for taking a road trip with an electric vehicle, click here.