Green Corner: Electric Vehicle Sparks Change in Five communities

Residents at four OCH buildings (65 Gladstone Ave., 280 Rochester St., 22 and 28 Balsam Street) and Mosaïq – 811 Gladstone have access to a car sharing service, thanks to funding and support from Hydro Ottawa, Communauto Ottawa, Ottawa Community Foundation, EnviroCentre and Ottawa Climate Action Fund. The car, an electric Kia Niro, is parked at 811 Gladstone. 

When the program launched in September 2022, residents were given a promotional code to help them become a Communauto member and access to the electric Kia Niro and over 200 vehicles throughout Ottawa.   

To be able to use the service, tenants sign up for the communauto car share service at ontario.communauto.com/ .  

Why an electric vehicle? 

A 2019 University of Toronto study found about one million urban Canadians live in low-income households and are also transport-poor, meaning they live in areas lacking transit options.  The car-share provides an easy way for tenants to get around. 

It is currently estimated that there are 1.4 billion cars in use across the globe. In Ottawa, fossil fuel vehicles produce 42 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions. In Ontario, switching to electric-powered mobility makes sense because our system is not powered by fossil fuels, which means it is 94 percent emissions-free. In our race to reduce emissions and ensure we reach Ottawa’s ambitious but necessary climate targets, electric vehicles and carsharing is key.