Free electric cars serving Laval carpoolers well

Forty Laval residents have been enjoying a free, fully-maintained Chevrolet Volt for the past year, which they can park for free at the subway or commuter train station, thanks to a Société de Transport de Laval’s (STL) carpooling project.

Communications director Marie-Céline Bourgault told The Suburban in an interview, Nov. 27, that 10 four-person teams are participating in the STL’s CLIC program.

All that the commuters have to contribute is their annual subscription to the Tram 3 card.

“When they arrive at the station, there is a reserved parking spot with an electric charging station—built by Hydro Quebec—waiting for them.”

Each team consists of a designated driver, an alternate driver and two passengers, she explained.

“It has been very successful because it gives access to public transit to people who live in a location where there are few buses,” she enthused. “That experience could potentially inspire other programs like this that will afford residents more flexibility to travel within Laval, using public transit services other than the bus.”

CLIC members live in the same neighbourhood and leave at the same time to take the metro at the Cartier or Montmorency station or the commuter train at the Sainte Dorothée station.

STL and the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) covered the cost of buying and maintaining the electric cars for each team, and arranges for General Motors to service the vehicles.

The designated drivers are also allowed to drive the cars for personal errands up to 200 km each month.

Only Laval residents aged 18 or more may apply to be passengers, and drivers must be 25 or older and have committed no more than two driving infractions or been involved in a car accident that was their fault during the past three years.

General Motors’ extended-range Chevrolet Volt can travel up to 80 km on a single charge, depending on weather and driving conditions as well as the way it is driven.