LETTER: Switching back from electric vehicle not an option

BradfordToday and InnisfilToday welcome letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). We received the following letter from reader Jeff Hiemstra regarding electric vehicles and the money saved by owning one.

Carbon taxes encourage societal change.

First of all, in my opinion taxation is a form of theft in our society, which is capitalist. However, money is the biggest motivating factor to get things done.

Politically, we see the desired shift to non-fossil vehicles to electric, which has many benefits, however a better plan would be to continue the shift away from gasoline but also heavily invest in a transit and high-speed rail system. Additionally, more density and walkable and cyclable cities would reduce the need for vehicles.

I personally have been driving since I was 16 (early 1990s). My first car was a Ford Mustang. I’ve driven many varieties of cars, including manual transmission as well. I enjoy driving.

Since 2018, however, I’ve moved to fully electric, which is amazing. The instant power, the quiet comfort, the non-polluting of the neighbourhoods and schools where kids are dropped off, the ability to charge or ‘fill ‘er up’ in your garage overnight.

Yeah, I’m not going back to gas. My 2022 long-range Model Y gets 525 kilometres to a full charge and I have no problem, even on the coldest days in January, driving from Barrie to downtown Toronto and back and still having hundreds-of-kilometres range for driving around the Barrie area until my day is done and I back it into the garage and plug it in.

Here in Ontario, we benefit from low-cost and stable electricity pricing, largely powered by nuclear, hydro and wind power. Overnight rates by Alectra in Barrie are 8.7 cents per kWh for evenings and weekends (and holidays).

The car can be programmed to charge only after 7 p.m., for example, to take advantage of this. It takes one to four hours in my garage, typically. If my battery was nearly empty, then the 75-kWh battery would cost me about $5.75 to get back up to 525 kilometres.

I save about $3,500 per year versus gas by the way. This stat includes average monthly price per litre and the kilometres driven versus cost of charging — mostly at home.

As for gas prices and carbon taxes, while I don’t agree with taxation, it definitely works to change the narrative and consumer buying habits.

Jeff Hiemstra

Barrie