The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) is taking steps towards its climate goals by testing out e-bikes for its resort operations team.
The RMOW’s landscape and village services team is shifting many day-to-day operational trips to a fleet of cargo e-bikes, which will be used to replace vehicle trips in the spring, summer and fall.
Residents and visitors can expect to see RMOW staff on the Valley Trail and in Whistler Village on the new bikes, which have been customized to accommodate equipment and are emblazoned with the RMOW logo.
Mayor and council recently visited the RMOW’s Public Works Yard to test out the new fleet.
“Fifty-four per cent of Whistler’s carbon footprint comes from private passenger vehicle trips within Whistler,” said Mayor Jack Crompton, in a release.
“Adding a fleet of cargo e-bikes for the Operations Team to use helps support the Climate Action Strategy to move beyond the car. This tangible action helps us move towards our climate action goals.”
RMOW staff will be able to use the Class 2 pedal-assisted e-bikes—which are permitted for use on Highway 99, municipal roads and Forest Service Roads—on the Valley Trail when using it for work-related purposes (as they currently do for trucks and other maintenance vehicles).
The fleet of e-bikes will be used as a test group “to understand the potential for vehicle trips to be reduced across departments,” the RMOW said in the release.
The RMOW purchased four e-bikes in total at a cost of $2,399 per bike.
Partial funding for the four bikes came from the province’s Specialty-Use Vehicle Incentive Program, which contributed $3,168 in funding for the project (or $792 per bike).
Along with the e-bikes, a pair of 10-year-old diesel Utility Terrain Vehicles used by the RMOW’s village maintenance crew have been replaced with new gas-powered UTVs. The RMOW expects the change to reduce emissions from the UTVs by up to 15 per cent.
Lastly, the RMOW is also transitioning many hand-operated power tools, including chainsaws and leaf blowers, from gas-powered to electric.
Read more at whistler.ca/bigmoves.
