Smart Ecological Services and Electrified Transportation (SéiTé) Pilot Project with Electric Pickup Trucks

The Comité de promotion industrielle de la zone de Plessisville (Industrial Promotion Committee of the Area of Plessisville, or CPIZP) is an organization of the City of Plessisville that will help FCM to manage the potential agreement between the CPIZP and the seven municipalities participating in the pilot project: Plessisville, Varennes, Nicolet, Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu, Val-des-Monts, Saint Fulgence and Prévost. The goal of the Smart Ecological Services and Electrified Transportation (SéiTé) pilot project is to develop smart ecological services by optimizing the electrification of transportation equipment and the sustainable development of communities through the use and sharing of electric tools and machines. The project is directly related to several plans and policies of the seven participating municipalities, including strategic visions, sustainable development plans and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction action plans. The objectives will be achieved by acquiring ECOTUNED electric pickup trucks to reduce the carbon and environmental footprint by integrating green transportation tools to use, optimize and coordinate the different green transportation services selected by the participating municipalities through a management system designed for this purpose, and by implementing the required infrastructure in order to optimize the use of ecological services and the electrification of transportation with a HUB-Écoservices (ecoservice hub). The electric pickup trucks will replace the pickups used for transporting people, equipment and materials. They will be available for use by municipal employees (internal users) and by citizens (external users). The SiTiC-SéiTé system is a system that was developed for managing ecological services, including the use and sharing of specialized vehicles (electric pickup trucks), equipment and tools. This tool will make it possible to increase and diversify the ecological services offered in the regions. Infrastructure will be added, including the ecoservice hub, to create a location that is designed to evolve and to provide the community with the required structures to optimize the use of ecological services and the electrification of transportation. This project is aligned with the objectives of the SAUVéR 1 pilot projects and the SAUVéR-SSé (MCIP) project; it is directly related to several plans and policies of the seven participating municipalities, including strategic visions and sustainable development plans. Innovative aspects • 100% electric pickups and lightweight trucks are rather rare in Canada, and the proposed pilot project is one of the first initiatives of its kind in Quebec. • “Car sharing” component offered to citizens, including for the transportation of bulky waste. • The ecoservice hub concept provides the community with the required infrastructure to optimize the use of the pickup trucks and sustainable mobility services. Replicability There is good potential for sharing the results and lessons of this pilot project on a regional scale, especially for future projects of the same type. Several municipalities have pickups in their vehicle fleets, in particular due to their practical and convenient aspect in public works. The significant findings made as a result of this initiative could certainly be used by other municipalities and regions in Quebec, and by other regions in Canada. Environmental benefits • Estimated GHG emission reductions of approximately 99% from exhaust mufflers • Reduced use of heavy trucks and reduced mileage for the collection of bulky waste • Reduced use of personal vehicles Economic benefits • Fuel cost savings of approximately 84% • Increased revenue with the loan of electric pickups Social benefits • Integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to optimize the efficiency of urban operations and services • Access to greener services, equipment and tools made available through a sharing economy model (Project description from original funding application)