Electric Vehicles – Turning heads at the Tim Hortons

Written by Julie Stauffer. Coordinated by Rebecca Spring, Manager of Sustainable Transportation, WWF-Canada
Each workday morning, John Wilson and his wife Leigh unplug their 2012 Chevy Volt, drive 50 km from their rural sanctuary in Mono, Ontario to the nearest GO station and catch a commuter train to Toronto.
Each evening, about halfway through the trip home, the Volt’s back-up system kicks in, using gasoline to generate electricity for the final few kilometres. John would love to have a purely electric vehicle, but because they live outside the city and charging stations are still scarce, the Volt made better sense.

(C) WWF-Canada

Electric vehicles fit John’s sustainable ethos. He works for a green energy retailer, grows his own organic veggies, lives in a straw bale home and used to own a hybrid Prius. But electric vehicles aren’t just for eco-enthusiasts.
When John pulls up at Tim Horton’s, people bombard him with questions. What they hear sounds awfully attractive. The Volt’s electric engine runs more cleanly and efficiently than an internal combustion engine. It’s far more reliable and requires less maintenance. At $34,000, the Volt costs no more than comparable conventional vehicles, while charging up sets John back just a dollar a night.
But the clincher comes when you get behind the wheel. “People’s jaws are on the floor because it’s so quiet, it’s so easy,” he says. “It’s an incredible drive. It’s powerful, it’s fast.”
He cautions that the environmental payoff depends on the source of electricity: coal-fired generating stations, for example, create plenty of pollution. Fortunately, as an executive and subscriber of Bullfrog Power, John’s Volt is as green as can be, using 100 per cent renewable energy. John has no doubts the future lies in electric vehicles.
“It’s a better way to drive,” he says.
 

Ontario Power Generation is a generous supporter of WWF’s EV program which helps make this blog series possible.