Item - 2020.IE11.17

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council approve the Electric Vehicle Strategy presented in Attachment 1: City of Toronto Electric Vehicle Strategy to the report (December 11, 2019) from Director, Environment and Energy, and direct City Divisions identified as action leads to report back with:

-  the outcome of activity exploration to be presented through the first Electric Vehicle Strategy status update report in 2021; and,

-  business cases where relevant for activity implementation to be presented through the 2021 Budget process.
 

2. City Council direct the Director, Environment and Energy to work with members of the already established Electric Vehicle Working Group ("EVWG") and other relevant City divisions, and request City agencies and corporations to oversee the effective engagement, implementation, and evaluation of the Electric Vehicle Strategy.

3. City Council direct the Director, Environment and Energy in consultation with Transportation Services, Fleet Services and all other relevant City divisions to report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee with a status update on the progress of the immediate actions identified in the Electric Vehicle Strategy starting in the second quarter of 2021 and with a comprehensive Electric Vehicle Strategy review every four years aligning with TransformTO's annual status reporting and the implementation planning cycles with the first review presented in 2023.

4. City Council direct the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with the Director, Environment and Energy and all other relevant city divisions, to complete the Downtown On-Street Charging Pilot and the Residential On-street Charging Station Pilots in 2020.

5. City Council direct the Director, Environment and Energy, in consultation with the Electric Vehicle Working Group, to report back as part of the 2021 status update on targets and timelines for expanded deployment of on-street electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

This report presents the City of Toronto's Electric Vehicle Strategy (“EV Strategy”) and seeks City Council's approval of the Strategy.

The development and implementation of this EV Strategy is a critical component of transitioning Toronto to a low-carbon city as articulated in the City's Climate Action Strategy, TransformTO, in particular the goal that 100 percent of transportation use zero carbon energy by 2050.

While support for public transit and active transportation will be critical to achieving this goal, increasing the adoption of electric vehicles ("EV"s), fuelled by Ontario's current low-carbon electricity grid, must also be realized.

Based on objectives presented in this EV Strategy, by 2030, Toronto should be prepared to accommodate more than 220,000 plug-in electric vehicles (approximately 20 percent of personal vehicles) and by 2050, 100 percent of personal vehicles should be zero carbon which can currently only be achieved by electric vehicles. This scale up will require a coordinated effort to address the current barriers and enable necessary charging and electrical capacity infrastructure and upgrades to avoid disruptions in service.

Electric vehicles have advanced significantly this past decade, owing in part to maturing technology, increased model availability (new and used EVs), decreasing battery costs, and significant greenhouse gas reduction, air quality and urban noise reduction benefits. This EV Strategy recommends actions that need to be taken if electric vehicles are to significantly penetrate the passenger vehicle market.

The EV Strategy was co-created under the leadership of the Environment and Energy Division with the cross-divisional Electric Vehicle Working Group ("EVWG") which includes over 20 divisions, agencies and corporations, in consultation with external stakeholders from academic, non-profit, automotive, utility and technology organizations, oil and gas industry, property developers, community groups and the general public.