The city’s conversion of Barrie’s vehicle fleet to electric is more like current than a jolt.

Plans are for it to happen, in a limited capacity, during the next two decades.

“The city is planning to convert all its light-duty vehicles to EVs (electric vehicles) at the end of their life cycle pending market availability and subject to future budget approvals,” said Kelly Oakley, Barrie’s associate director of corporate asset management.

“This phased conversion is anticipated to take place over about 20 years, with full emission reduction achieved at the end of that time period,” she added. “Medium-duty vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles and equipment will be converted to electric or an alternative fuel source when feasible, provided operational requirements are met.”

But Coun. Sergio Morales, who has long been a proponent of EVs, would like the city to do better.

“While we are a national leader with our public EV charging infrastructure, we are now playing catch-up to other cities that have outpaced us in converting to an EV fleet,” he said, mentioning Kingston, a comparable municipality, which had 24 EVs at the end of 2021.

“The city should be able to convert all or the majority of its light-duty fleet (for bylaw enforcement, passenger vehicles, normal trucks) in the next eight years,” Morales added.

Transport Canada considers EVs, or battery electric vehicles, as those with zero emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), along with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles or those using hydrogen fuel cells. GHGs are a major contributor to climate change, or global warming.

At present, the City of Barrie has one electric vehicle, one electric six-foot mower, one electric baseball diamond groomer, and two electric ice resurfacers, at East Bayfield Community Centre. The city doesn’t have any hybrid vehicles in its fleet.

Barrie’s fleet totals 635 vehicles. It comprises 300 actual vehicles, 280 pieces of equipment and 61 transit vehicles. That total includes 185 light-duty trucks, 43 medium-duty trucks and 37 heavy-duty trucks. Barrie Fire and Emergency Service has 19 fire trucks. 

Oakley said there are three main challenges to the city converting its fleet to EVs.

Supply is the first, as EVs are new to the market and supply is less than the demand, which makes obtaining them a challenge.

“Market availability,” Oakley said. “For many of the city’s business units, there are currently limited, or no vehicle options available in the market that fit the operational requirements. As the technology advances, more vehicles and equipment types will become readily available that satisfy our working requirements.”

Then there’s charging infrastructure, as facilities that will house EVs need to have sufficient power to support the charging infrastructure. The increased energy demand might require upgrades to the electrical infrastructure.

Oakley noted, however, that the EV industry is changing rapidly.

“For much of the city’s fleet, conversion to electric vehicles is feasible,” she said. “For heavy-duty vehicles and equipment, there are no, or very few, alternative fuel options currently available, without compromising the required operational functionality.

“At this time, it’s assumed many of these vehicles will remain diesel for the time being, however the industry is progressing rapidly, and it’s likely that over time many heavy duty vehicles will be available for conversion, » Oakley added. 

Oakley said it’s difficult to provide details on cost implications and environmental impacts at this time, as the potential for full reduction in emissions is limited — due to the current functionality of electric or alternative fuel for heavy-duty vehicles. Conversion of the light-duty fleet will result in full emission reduction.

“In general, the costs are higher to purchase an electric vehicle than a gas-powered vehicle,” she said. “The increased capital required to purchase the vehicles is expected to be offset by reduced maintenance costs and a reduction in costs for charging compared to fuel costs.”

Morales also noted the 20-year timeline is based on a 2021 consultant report done right before most car manufacturers announced EVs with 350- to 410-kilometre range, which are in production now.

“And (automakers) also committed to EV lineups by the mid to late 2020s, which is why an accelerated timeline is realistic and should be our target,” he said. “I aspire for Barrie to catch up in fleet EV conversion and re-establish ourselves as a municipal leader in EVs.”

For Barrie Transit, its 61 vehicles comprise 46 conventional buses and 15 specialized units or cutaways. The full-size buses are fuelled by diesel, while the cutaways run on gasoline.

Oakley said in the fall of 2022 the city received a grant through the federally run Zero Emission Transit Fund to support a pilot program. 

“Battery electric buses (BEBs) are currently considered to be a relatively new technology in the industry and transit agencies of similar size to Barrie Transit have taken a measured approach through their pilot programs to ensure the technology is able to operate within their unique operating profile before transitioning their fleet electric,” she said. “It is difficult to provide details on cost implications and environmental impacts at this time.

“The next step in the process is to collect this data as part of a pilot program, which will include the acquisition of two full-size BEBs and its related charging infrastructure.” 

Barrie Police Service is integrating hybrid vehicles into its fleet. Several hybrid SUVs, which use electric and gasoline, operate in the front-line fleet.

Preliminary data shows that hybrid SUVs have lowered idling time, reduced engine stress and fuel costs. With a fleet of 110 total vehicles (as of June 27, 2022), 19 of those vehicles are hybrid, resulting in a five to 10 per cent savings in fuel costs and a 50 to 60 per cent reduction in idling time.

That same June, the Barrie police department’s first fully electric vehicle, a Ford Mach-E, was added as an administrative vehicle. It has an estimated range of between 340 to 500 kilometres and has a fast-charging capability. The Barrie police fleet unit continues to review electric and hybrid vehicles available with a police package for front-line patrol, with car manufacturers indicating that this is a future possibility.

City police sold its motorcycle in 2022, and participated in a trial of two electric bicycles in the summer. This is in addition to the 12 regular bicycles that are already in use by front-line officers. 

The Barrie Simcoe Emergency Services Campus, located on Fairview Road, has a two-car electric charging station installed and the infrastructure to install more.

The results from 2022 are promising, as the period from January to May 2022 shows approximately 15 to 20 per cent in fuel savings compared to the same time in 2021. With the increased cost of fuel, the lower gas usage has allowed the BPS to stay within its 2022 fuel and fleet budget.