Locals offered a lift towards low-emissions future

GEELONG Sustainability is trialling new initiatives to encourage electric vehicle uptake in Geelong, as it continues calls for increased investment into emissions-reducing transport technologies.

The environmental group has leased an MG EV, which would normally sell for close to $50,000, allowing community members to take the vehicle for test drives to learn more about the cars and debunk common misconceptions.

GS president Vicki Perrett was among the first to hit the road in the new wheels earlier this month and said the initiative could play an important role in bumping up interest in the green vehicles.

“We want to give people the chance for people to give it a test drive, to learn about it, understand how you charge it and debunk all the myths,” Mrs Perrett said.

“We think those sorts of strategies are where we can have a positive impact and demystifying some of the concerns that people have.”

GS is accepting expressions of interest for test drives that it will schedule over the next several weeks.

The City of Greater Geelong has backed the EV project through a sustainability grants scheme.

GS is also trialling car share programs within the Geelong community that include EVs, encouraging transitions from petrol car owners that only drive occasionally.

Mrs Perrett said the next step in boosting uptake was to boost prevalence and efficiency of charging stations to tackle the common concern of range anxiety.

The sustainability group has also called for long-term policy from governments aimed at reducing transport emissions – which accounts for large chunks of total carbon emissions in Geelong (18 per cent) and across Victoria (25 per cent).

A six-month cut to the national fuel excise announced in this year’s federal budget has taken effect, at an estimated cost $2.9 billion to Canberra’s bottom line.

The federal government is predicting savings of around $300 at the fuel pump for an average household until the measure ends in September.

Victorian government data predicts ongoing yearly savings of $500 for zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) owners, while Mrs Perrett said a 500-kilometre round trip between Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo cost about $20 in the GS EV – at least 70 per cent cheaper than a petrol-fuelled journey.

“We think that the (excise) money could be better spent and it could be spent on the future,” Mrs Perrett said.

“It could be better spent decarbonising the economy, transport, our food, going electric wherever possible.

“We need to invest more in getting people out of their cars.

“You should be rewarding behaviours you want to encourage, not sticking with the old paradigm.”

Recent trends suggest the tide may be beginning to turn; state data indicates that 2021 ZEV sales were triple the previous year.

The state government has paid out 2200 rebates worth $3000 for ZEV buyers since releasing the first round of a $46 million incentive program at the start of May last year.