Wellington City Council work in partnership with ChargeNet, the nation’s leading charging provider, to develop and deliver residential on-street charging for the one in four Wellington City residents without off-street parking.
A model inspired by world-leading EV friendly cities, on-street residential charging has not yet been demonstrated anywhere else in New Zealand. The project, selected from among almost 50 applications, will deliver up to 50 charge points in residential areas on request from residents without access to their own charging facilities.
Mayor Justin Lester says Wellington is in a unique situation. “Compared to other cities, such a large number of us rely on on-street car parking. The reality is that the ability to charge at home overnight is fundamental for electric vehicle owners. Making shared chargers available in residential streets will allow so many more people to make the change to electric – and ultimately that benefits all of us.
Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman, Portfolio leader for Transport Strategy and Operations says the Council has already been approached about providing electric vehicle chargers for residential streets.
“We’re getting a great response from the public about our programme to provide fast chargers in the city, and we’re excited about the progress we’re making. But the Low Carbon Capital Plan and our Resilience Strategy are all about encouraging widespread adoption of electric vehicles – this funding really hits the mark in terms of making the change to electric possible for the broadest range of Wellingtonians,” he says.