Transportation
Plug In BC
Representing groups and organizations that have been supporting the uptake of electric vehicles in BC. This is your hub to find out the latest on EVs.
How to Import a Used Electric Car (EV) to Canada
By Don Scott
Individuals can go through the same process that dealers do to import a vehicle Individuals can go through the same process that dealers do to import a vehicle from the USA. The guide below outlines the steps involved. They are not onerous but will take some time and exploration and you can save thousands of dollars by doing it yourself.
Transportation Systems & Urban Development Patterns for a One Planet Region
By Todd Litman
Good planets are difficult to find. Let’s take good care of the one we have!
Humanity is shifting from about 80% rural in 1900 to about 80% urban in 2100. The density with which new urban residents live will significantly affect the total amount of openspace (farmland and natural habitat) that will be displaced by development. More compact development (more than 20 residents per hectare) provides large savings and benefits. Our challenge is to increase both density and residents’ quality of life.
Assessing BC’s Policies to Encourage a Sharp Reduction in GHG Emissions by Light Vehicles in BC’s Transportation Sector
By Don Scott
BC has trumpeted itself as a leader in reducing carbon emissions in North America and in Canada in particular. It was the first jurisdiction in North American to introduce a carbon tax at the consumer level and has made much of this brave and green initiative. However, BC’s GHG emissions record does not justify that claim.
Vancouver Island & Salt Spring Island EV Charging Stations
By Motorize - Your EV Store
and Salt Spring Island EV Group
Need some juice? Use this list to find all the charging stations on Vancouver Island before your next EV road trip.
Vancouver Island Charging Stations
Salt Spring Island Charging Stations
The Climate Challenge
by Guy Dauncey
The Climate Challenge draws on working solutions from around the world, and lays out the best actions for students and scientists, musicians and mayors, policy-makers and presidents, showing how it is possible to reduce our carbon footprint to almost zero by 2040. Each solution describes steps that are already being used in homes, schools, businesses, cities, and governments around the world-with full scientific references to help the reader dig deeper and push farther.
Community Based Social Marketing
Community-Based Social Marketing is helping humanity make this transition more gracefully. The cornerstone of sustainable and healthy communities is behaviour change. Sustainability requires that individuals and businesses engage in diverse actions, such as reducing waste, increasing water and energy efficiency, altering transportation habits, and protecting native species. Healthy lifestyles require individuals to make smart food choices, exercise, avoid smoking and excessive sun exposure, and engage in a myriad of other actions.
Learn From Transportation Experts
Find out more about the future of transportation in our region with these informative videos
Quick Tips
- Commit to stop flying for a year
- Commit to reducing your leisure flights by half
- Purchase carbon offsets for all flights
- Attend national or international conferences by video-link
- Live car free
- Use public transportation frequently
- Drive less (combine errands, take fewer trips)
- Walk or bike to work/school
- If it’s less than 1 mile or .75 Km away try walking if you can
- Drive an electric vehicle (EV)
- Drive a hybrid vehicle
- Buy an electric bike or trike
- Share a vehicle with someone (e.g. your partner)
- Carpool frequently
Seablind: The High Cost of Shipping Our Stuff
The shipping industry is one of the most polluting and, until now, unregulated industries in the world. Seventeen of the largest ships emit more toxic sulphur than all the cars in the world. As well, ships burn dirty fuel that emits black carbon which, in turn, accelerates ice melt. We need to consider what shipping does to our health, the Arctic, and the world.
Seablind, a powerful documentary by British Columbia filmmakers, explores these questions and the hidden costs of shipping — a massive facet of globalization that virtually all of us rely on yet few know anything about. CreativelyUnited.org proudly hosted the Canadian premiere of Seablind. See CreativelyUnited.org’s Artists as Changemakers video series to watch an interview with Victoria, B.C., filmmaker, Sarah Robertson.
Wheel Fun
Moving our bodies and getting outside increases our sense of well-being. As we move towards a carbon-negative future, it is important that we consider alternative transportation methods, with much less environmental impact, to get us where we are going.
Electric bikes are getting more people riding, especially those who didn’t think cycling was for them. They’re a great form of transportation, less stressful on the body than regular bikes, allow us to cover longer distances, and are lots of fun to ride. When we set out on a two-wheeled adventure we revisit the excitement of being a child again.
Idling Gets Us Nowhere
- Walk, cycle, and use public transit more.
- Reduce or eliminate the need to travel — both for long and short distances.
- Ensure your personal car or company fleet is operating efficiently. Plan to switch to electric alternatives.
- Electric vehicles may be cheaper to maintain as their engines are simpler than their gas counterparts.
- Find alternatives to personal car ownership, such as car sharing.
- Retrofit your engine from gas to electric for about half the price of a new electric vehicle. A typical conversion, using all new parts, costs between $5,000 and $10,000 (not counting the cost of the donor vehicle or labour). Source: www.howstuffworks.com
- Watch the Future of Transportation video as part of the Solutions series at CreativelyUnited.org
Create Integrated & Sustainable Public Transportation Strategies
Planning sustainably means that we balance the needs of people, communities and the greater environment. It means creating systems of efficiency while respecting our planet. One way we can do this is to walk, bike, car share and take public transit.
We must begin to bring more green practices into our public transport system as well as create an integrated strategy that supports all citizens equally.
The best results would be fewer vehicles on the road while creating deeper neighbourhood connections.
Meetings In Motion
The best way to keep meetings interesting is to change the space that you hold them in. There is no requirement to have a seated meeting in an office. In fact, sitting for long periods of time has many recognized health risks and is considered more dangerous than smoking.*
For this reason, walk/talk meetings are growing in popularity. By moving our bodies outside in nature, our circulation increases, resulting in us feeling brighter and lighter.
*Source: startstanding.org
Green Your Travel
Greta Thunberg showed the world that options to flying exist by crossing the Atlantic ocean in a sailboat instead of flying. While not everyone can jump on a sailboat to their next destination, we can reduce our travel footprint by:
- Discovering unique places closer to home instead of flying abroad.
- Refusing plastic on flights by refilling your own large bottle of water just prior to boarding your flight and reducing in-flight consumption.
- Staying in one location for an extended period of time and thoroughly exploring that destination on foot, bike, bus, electric vehicles and minimizing vehicle travel by planning trips carefully.
- Supporting local small scale businesses, smaller boutique hotels, and privately owned rentals where there is a limit on the size of the development and sustainability is practiced.
- Minimizing towel washing, long showers, baths, linen and towel changes.
- Volunteering for social and environmental projects at your destination.
- Supporting farmers markets and local artisans by buying locally produced food, goods and services.
- Be respectful by reducing your waste. Compost and recycle as much as you can.
- Invest in offsets by making donations of time, expertise and/or funds with grassroot organizations and charities who stand for what you value.
- Check out organizations like the Rainforest Alliance who are focused on educating the public on how to transform their travel into an adventure that benefits all.
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Community Blog Posts
Digging into our Transportation, Building and Consumables Footprint
I looked at our food consumption and associated food waste, which at 24 per cent is the largest share of the ecological footprint (setting aside the 46 per cent of the ecological footprint that is due to the local activities of the provincial and federal governments)…
Improving Urbanism in a Time of Climate Change and Housing Need
Renowned city planner, Brent Toderian, recently shared this insightful presentation to Langford. He has done a lot of work internationally in both...
Eat My Dust: Bikes Beat Cars at Commuter Challenge
At 8:30am “The Race to The Leg” concluded – and what a race it was! Mayors, Councillors, Ministers, and local celebrities raced for glory to see who...
Vote for Climate Champions
With the municipal elections just around the corner – October 15th - those of you on Southern Vancouver Island that may not as yet have completed...
With Housing As Key Election Issue, Here Are My Picks for Mayor and Council
With so many candidates running and so many vacancies on Council, I’ve been asked many times over the last month for “my list” – who will I be...
For a more livable city, invest in cycling, transit, pedestrian infrastructure
Active transportation is a major focus of public health action, and has been for some decades. The health benefits include increased physical activity (in turn linked to reduced obesity and improved heart health), improved air quality (linked to improved heart and lung health), and reductions in injuries, noise and greenhouse gas emissions.
