Going electric
We know that electric vehicles are crucial in tackling greenhouse gas emissions, and our research shows that’s one of the main reasons Australians are keen to make the switch.
Transurban has a number of EV initiatives underway:
We know Australians are keen to make the switch to EVs but being an early adopter can be daunting.
So we’re giving select Victorian customers the chance to drive an EV - a Nissan LEAF - for up to 10 days. The trial allows potential converters to test drive an EV for an extended period, to really test its performance and see how this technology can fit into their home, workplace and lifestyle.
The trial participants will capture their experience on video, letting us know what they liked about driving an EV, things that surprised them, or things that might make it easier for them to make the switch permanently.
We’re preparing for the growing number of electric vehicles on our road network, by rolling out portable electric vehicle chargers to our incident response fleets.
Just like petrol cars, electric cars rarely run out of juice on the road. But if they do, the link between the electric motor and the wheels means it can be tricky to get them out of the way.
In a first for any incident response crew in Australia, an EV charger has been added to the CityLink incident response fleet in Melbourne.
This way, we can provide the same assistance we do for petrol vehicles that run out of fuel on our roads - so if you run out of zap, we’ll get you going again.
In partnership with our NSW incident response contractor, Ventia, our first electric truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) is scheduled to hit the road in 2023.
TMAs – also known as crash cushions – create a buffer to protect road workers, motorists and vehicles from potential high-speed accidents. The electric TMA vehicle will be a world-leading innovation in road safety.
And in Queensland, keep your eye out for Australia’s first and only 100% electric cone truck.
Our traffic management contractor, Schramm Group, uses ‘Kermit’ the EV truck to drop cones on the road, so we can keep traffic moving safely around work zones during planned maintenance periods.
In Queensland, we’ve added five Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to our fleet.
The new additions are powered by four EV charging stations on-site at our new operations centre in Kedron, which are used by our Queensland Asset and Project Delivery Teams for routine corridor inspections, maintenance and site inspections.
The fleet upgrade and EV charging stations enable us to capitalise on lifecycle carbon emission reduction benefits for which EVs are universally lauded.
During the pandemic, we played our part to support Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine roll out by rewarding fully vaccinated Linkt customers with the opportunity to win over $160,000 worth of prizes, including two brand new Hyundai Kona Elite EVs.
Over 400,000 people entered the competition, and two lucky customers in Sydney and Brisbane are now enjoying their new EVs.
The decision to give away EVs was an easy one - our research tells us that 42% of people in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland would like for their next car to be an EV. They’re motivated by both the environmental benefits, and because they cost less to run and can save them money on maintenance.
