Electric vehicles will be instrumental in decarbonising road transport – especially as the world transitions to renewable energy sources. Cutting carbon emissions is critical to slowing the impacts of climate change, both in our own lifetimes and beyond. For this reason, Transurban advocates for the adoption of EVs – and supports initiatives to remove barriers to their widespread adoption, including cost and charging infrastructure access.
Transitioning national fleets and their supporting infrastructure to this new way of travelling is a complex undertaking. Recognising the challenges, we collaborate with other EV advocates on change-driving initiatives and provide expertise and insights across governments, industry and community organisations.
We also work to dispel misconceptions about EVs, including through research and community and customer engagement and education.
Data-led initiatives
We are taking an increasingly data-lead approach in our EV advocacy – identifying opportunities where we can achieve meaningful outcomes, and where we can measure our success and share our learnings.
Our EVs for Everyone program is based on our research that found the greatest potential for emissions reduction (on a per car basis) is in outer suburbs where residents drive the furthest, using the oldest, most polluting vehicles. Yet our research also found that historically, EV uptake has been lowest among this same group. Our EVs for Everyone program targets the communities travelling the most kilometres by car. Our first EVs for Everyone Drive Day, held at the Sydney Motorsports Park in Western Sydney, is giving people the chance to get behind the wheel of an EV and talk to experts about all aspects of EV ownership.
Future program plans include extended trials with targeted participants and sharing of our learnings with government and industry.
EV ownership research
We’re a way off having a majority EV fleet, but our research shows EV ownership is starting to take off. Our Transurban Insights: Electric Vehicles report (2024) shows the percentage of EVs bought in Australia doubled in a year – up from 3.8% in 2022 to 8.1% in 2023.
This research – a survey of almost 1,700 people in the cities where we operate – explored what’s stopping people from making the switch to EVs. We found cost (including charging costs) and preferred model availability are barriers that need to be addressed before adoption can become more widespread.
Eco-driving reduces fuel consumption and emissions
Driving in ways that reduce fuel consumption is known as eco-driving – and it’s something everyone can do. Examples of eco-driving behaviours include:
- reducing harsh braking by keeping a gap of three seconds from the vehicle in front
- maintaining the correct tyre pressure to improve fuel efficiency
- reducing deadweight and drag by removing excess weight from vehicle.
We conduced a real-life trial to see if eco-driving really does improve fuel efficiency and associated emissions – and saw an average 5.5% emissions reduction (and fuel consumption) across all participants.
Putting key groups in the EV driving seat
We host drive day events that put targeted groups behind the wheel of an EV – fleet managers, whose decisions help shape Australia’s overall fleet composition; EV-curious customers happy to share their first EV driving experiences with the wider public; and people living in areas where commutes are longer and public transport is limited.
- EVs for Everyone Drive Day
Our first EVs for Everyone Drive Day, in Sydney, is giving people the chance to test drive EVs and talk to experts on everything EV. Book tickets here (via Humantix).
At this event we invited a mix of organisations and government with products and initiatives that make owning an EV more affordable and accessible. Everything from salary sacrifice programs, used EVs so solar and battery rebates – so that attendees could better understand ways to overcome the upfront cost barrier to access the reduced running cost savings of going electric.
- EV Experience campaign
To help demystify some preconceptions about EVs, we invited select Victorian Linkt customers to trial a Nissan LEAF EV for up to 10 days. Participants had the chance to really test the car’s performance – including taking them on road trips – and experience how this technology would fit into their home, work routine and lifestyle. Our test-drivers captured their experiences on video, letting us know what they liked about driving an EV, things that surprised them, and things that might make it easier for them to make the switch permanently.
See EV Experience participants’ stories. - Fleet manager Transurban EV Drive Day
Recognising fleet managers’ significant buying power and impact on the second-hand vehicle market each year, we hosted our first ever Transurban EV Drive Day in 2023. On the day, around 50 fleet managers took different EVs out for a spin and heard from industry experts and peers who already have EVs in their fleets.
The Transurban EV Drive Day was presented in partnership with Origin and the Australasian Fleet Management Association.
Supporting the transition to an electric fleet
We support government initiatives that promote and accelerate the transition to EVs. Our activities to date have included:
- Parliamentary Friends of Electric Vehicles and Future Fuels Transport Group support
The Parliamentary Friends of Electric Vehicles and Future Fuels Transport Group comprises more than 30 Federal MPs from across the political spectrum. Transurban co-sponsors (with others, such as the Electric Vehicle Council and Origin Energy) Parliamentary Friends' events, bringing shared expertise and advocacy to support the transition to EVs.
- NSW Parliamentary Friends of EVs
Transurban participated in the launch of the NSW Government’s Parliamentary Friends of EVs. The state has set targets for EVs to reach 50% of new car sales by 2030, and its Parliamentary Friends initiative is focused on promoting EV adoption for their sustainability benefits.
- EVs travel free in Montreal
EV and plug-in hybrid drivers using our A25 Bridge in Montreal can use the bridge toll-free. This Quebec Ministry of Transport pilot program has been extended until 1 January 2024. Drivers must enrol to access this benefit. Find out more about this program.
- EV incentives to promote vaccinations
During the pandemic, we played our part to support Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine roll out by rewarding fully vaccinated Linkt customerswith the opportunity to win over $160,000 worth of prizes, including two new Hyundai Kona Elite EVs. More than 400,000 people entered the competition, and two lucky customers in Sydney and Brisbane are now enjoying their new EVs.
EVs on our roads and behind the scenes
As part of our goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 we are transitioning vehicles in our fleet to electric, and are introducing ways to support EV drivers using our roads.
- EVs in Transurban’s fleet
Transurban is working on a roadmap to electrify our fleet vehicles and we have a target to achieve a 100% zero emission fleet by 2030. Around 10% of our fleet is plug-in hybrid – including, in Queensland, five Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs. These vehicles are used by our Asset and Project Delivery Teams for routine maintenance and corridor and site inspections.
- EV incident response vehicles
Incident response vehicles on our roads travel up to 150 kilometres per day and have their engines running for long stretches. So, together with our operations partner, Ventia, we have deployed a new fully-electric incident response vehicle– the first of its kind in Australia. Compared to a diesel vehicle, our vehicle is expected to save around 50 tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year.
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.
- Portable EV chargers
Just like petrol cars, electric cars rarely run out of juice on the road. But when EVs do go flat, the link between the EV’s electric motor and its wheels means moving these cars off the road can be tricky.
In a first for any incident response crew in Australia, an EV charger has been added to the CityLink incident response fleet in Melbourne, ready to give EV drivers a top-up charge and help them on their way.
