AutoShare's Electric Vehicle (EV) Program

AutoShare was the first car sharing or rental company in Canada to add 100% electric vehicles to its fleet, in the summer of 2011.  As part of our commitment to sustainable transportation, we're working with a number of companies to install a network of charging stations for this project in Toronto, starting with Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), Toronto Hydro, Brookfield Place, King and John Festival Corporation, and Toronto Atmospheric Fund's Fleetwise EV300 initiative.

Driving an EV is no more difficult than driving any new vehicle, although it may feel a bit like the time you used a touchscreen iphone or other new electronic device for the first time. Familiar, yet different.

The "EV 1 - 2 - 3"

1. Know - your Trip Distance
• Plan your trip, take a look at a map, use trip advisor (Mapquest, Google Maps)- know how far you're going in km's.


2. Verify - the Vehicle Charge & Estimated Range*
• When you turn the car on, verify the estimated range on the dashboard. It should give you a guide to the range available from the battery. Make sure your trip distance and available range is feasible.


3. Monitor - your Charge Consumption
• Highway driving, air conditioning & heater use, jack-rabbit (rapid start) acceleration - these things consume more battery charge than basic city driving. As you drive, you will need to make sure that you can still complete your trip - and just as important, that you can get the vehicle back "at all", not just on time.

Electric Vehicles - Now Available to All Members

In September/October 2011, AutoShare worked with a group of about 100 members to pilot the EV program. These drivers were able to reserve & drive the EV's, providing valuable feedback on how the vehicles fit into our system.

The EV's are now released into our full general membership as of November 2011.

Please note the following:

• Roundtrip distance should be about 75 km's
• Plug in the EV when you return the car - failure to do so will result in a $75 fine
• Do not exhaust your range. If tow is required, you will be required to pay tow costs plus staff time.
• Please direct all your feedback or questions to electric@autoshare.com

*Range Awareness

This is the most important thing to note before you drive the EV and during your trip. Make sure to note the Range Indicator on the dashboard, this is the approximate number of trip KMs available for your reservation.

Range Indicator: Should be considered a guideline for ideal conditions. It can fluctuate based on your driving.

Things that will reduce your range

• Running accessories (a/c, heating)
• Jack rabbit starts (rapid start)
• Sustained highway speeds

Based on our automatic 2hr buffer, we aim that each reservation will have about a 75km range in full Electric Vehicles and up to 500km on the Chevy Volt.

For members driving an EV, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the basics of the specific Electric Vehicle before your drive it, including recharging & range.

Please click on the image to familiarize yourself with either the Nissan Leaf or the Chevy Volt.

Click on the vehicle image below:

	Vehicle Type &Trip Range	Range Features	Available Lots
	75km to 100km Range	ECO Mode	Brookfield Place Mountain Equipment Coop
	56km All Electric Range   610 km including Gas Range	Electric generator to extend the vehicle's range	Evergreen Brickworks

A big thanks to the Fleetwise EV300 program.

And of course, all of our electric cars will be Bullfrog Powered