Driving school fleet electrification project

/ URBAIN DENSE / ELECTRIC VEHICLES /

Promote the electrification of the vehicle fleets of Quebec driving schools.

A PROJECT BY

The e-roule project aims to promote the electrification of the vehicle fleets of 100 Quebec driving schools. Led by the Quebec Foundation for Road Safety Education (FQESR) and funded by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the project will demonstrate that it is possible and viable to choose 100% electric powertrains to replace gasoline powertrains. As part of this project, learner drivers have the opportunity to take their driving lessons (practical component) in electric cars.

Project objectives

• Enable driving schools across Quebec to experiment with adding electric vehicles to their corporate fleets. As part of the project, 10% (10/100) of the schools completely replaced their fleet with electric cars and thus fully eliminated combustion vehicles.
• Develop a viable economic model, recommendations and success criteria that encourage the electrification of corporate fleets in this field.
• Simplify and secure schools' energy transition to help them reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• Increase awareness among young drivers (and their families) about purchasing or leasing electric vehicles.
• Raise awareness of government incentive programs supporting the shift to electric transportation.

In addition to promoting the electrification of corporate vehicle fleets, this pilot project makes it possible to evaluate the viability of this new business model for the industry and to measure the change in perception of young drivers who completed the practical part of their training with electric vehicles.

A project in two phases

From the first year of its launch in early January 2020, the project quickly achieved success with 80 vehicles spread across 30 driving schools. A second phase was then added in the form of a support plan. As of December 31, 2022, the project brought together more than 84 driving schools for a total of 155 electric cars. The shortage of electric vehicles delayed reaching the target of 200 vehicles by the end of 2022. The experiment is still ongoing.

Together, let’s support and accelerate innovation by sharing knowledge and best practices!

Pre-project methodology

This project was developed by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, taking into account various considerations, notably:

• The absence of an awareness campaign about electric cars aimed at young adults under 25;
• Few or no opportunities to try this type of vehicle;
• The industry's desire to prepare for the shift to electric cars given the ban on internal combustion vehicles in 2035; and
• Fears related to costs and technical feasibility (range and charging of electric vehicles).

Volunteer schools agreed to share data from their combustion vehicles for several months, then that of the electric cars used to replace them, in exchange for help with the cost of charging infrastructure, vehicle rental fees and support.

Funding

The project is funded by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility with funds that come from a measure of the 2013-2020 Action Plan on Climate Change.

Results achieved

The project demonstrated that an electric vehicle with 400 km of range is able to adequately meet the industry's needs:

• 155 electric cars were put into service in 84 schools across Quebec, allowing more than 60,000 young people to experience driving such a vehicle;
• Three awareness campaigns reached more than one million people;
• The project generated 1,400 tonnes of GHG reductions over 2 years;
• Finally, surveys showed about an 18% improvement in the public perception of electric cars.

Lessons learned

Success factors

Among the success factors are:

• The availability of electric vehicles. This crucial element proved to be an issue in this project;
• Charging infrastructure (costs and installation);
• Promotion of the project to young people;
• Training for instructors and managers;
• Change management before and throughout the project;
• Having a team to support the transition phase;
• Involvement of the driving schools;
• The consistency and stability of the team;
• The expertise of the resources dedicated to the project;
• Transparency;
• The speed of responses or the responsiveness of stakeholders.

Challenges and practical advice for carrying out such a project

The human factor and charging infrastructure are among the main challenges.

Things to keep in mind when conducting a similar project

The main issues do not stem from the concerns expressed by users at the start of the project. Charging infrastructure remains the key element for the success of an electrification project. Furthermore, change management with users must be done before, during and after the transition.

Next steps

According to the recommendations made for this project, implementing a support program is important to accelerate the industry's transition.

Project partners

• Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility
• Innovative Vehicle Institute
• EV Duty
• Driving schools
• Charging infrastructure companies: Bectrol, BEQ Technology and Circuit électrique
• Organizations, such as AQTr, Équiterre, Roulons électrique and Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)

The main contribution of the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI) is based on its expertise in telematics applied to electric vehicles. The IVI plays a role of technical assistance in putting the vehicles into service and in setting up measurement instruments as well as in the scientific monitoring of the fleet.

From their analysis of the collected usage data, IVI experts are able to validate the match between the use of 100% electric vehicles and the needs of the various driving schools. The organization is thus able to make recommendations on the vehicles best suited to their realities.

IVI's roles

• Identify the winning parameters for the electrification of driving schools' vehicle fleets;
• Analyze usage data from electric vehicles and charging stations, as well as that of gasoline vehicles (to establish baseline scenarios);
• Develop a vehicular database compiling usage information from 80 cars, 24/7, in 30 Quebec schools;
• Design an automatic detection system for driving lesson hours, based on telematics data;
• Document and analyze during the project driving and charging behaviors, to improve practices of the different schools;
• Manage the allocation of rebates offered to the different schools.

Project contact person

Innovative Vehicle Institute
100 Claude-Audy Street
Saint-Jérôme (Quebec)
J5L J2 Canada

Charles Trudel, Eng.
Group Leader, Technological Applications

1 855 731-5744 ext. 255