The Quebec government will invest C$420 million over the next five years to put more than 100,000 electric and hybrid vehicles on the province’s roads, Radio-Canada reported late last week.
The province says the plan, a scaled-back version of a three-year, C$516-million effort announced by the previous Parti Québécois government, will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 150,000 tonnes per year beginning in 2020, create 5,000 jobs, and trigger more than C$500 million in private investment.
“In order to encourage motorists to choose electric over gas-powered cars, the government plans to install 785 public-access charging stations and 60 or so quick-charging stations,” CBC reports. “It will also ask businesses to install charging units for employees.”
The province will maintain an existing C$8,000 rebate for electric car purchases, add 1,000 electric cars to its own fleet by 2020, and give EV users free access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes and tolled roads and bridges beginning in 2016.
