Professor Aleksander Samarin
(pictured) believes electric cars could
ease traffic congestion and pollution in
Sydney.
Image: Izanda Ford

Zero emissions and zero hassle, what more could city commuters ask for?

Professor Aleksander Samarin from the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology believes Sydney’s traffic congestion, pollution and public transport woes could be solved by a private urban transport system (PUTS) comprised of electric cars.

“In essence this concept implies that a customer is sold not a car, but a service, consisting of a relatively large fleet of electric vehicles and a dozen or more strategically-placed parking stations, located in and around the CBD, and in large cities, in major suburban shopping centres,” says Samarin.

“A ubiquitous ‘smart’ credit card and a computerised service would ensure that the first available electric car from any of the parking stations in a network, already fully-charged, serviced and cleaned, will be made available on demand to a card-holder.”

Providing all the benefits of owning a car but without the expensive outlay or ongoing maintenance costs, PUTS appears to provide the perfect solution for commuters and environmental policy-makers alike.

Overseas, similar systems are already receiving critical acclaim. While France’s Autolib (due to be up and running by the end of 2009) and Israel’s Project Better Place (with an estimated completion date of 2012) also encourage large-scale use of electric cars, Samarin argues, “this system is superior to those because it is not simply a recharging station, this is something completely different.”

The difference Samarin refers to is dozens of dedicated electric car parking stations strategically located throughout Sydney. “In Parramatta, in Liverpool, in North Sydney, in the CBD; so that the centres where business is going on and where business people are likely to go, have these parking stations.”

With many commuters viewing public transport as unreliable, inconvenient and inefficient, the car is a necessity for Sydney travellers. “There are many people, business people, who have a second car which is simply used as public transport. It’s not used as a family car, they drive it to the CBD and they park it at considerable cost,” says Samarin.

Following recent advances in electric car and battery design – many can now travel 100km to 200km before needing to be recharged – the only remaining obstacle is finding somewhere to locate the parking stations.

“The problem I see is acquiring property for the project. Maybe some of the existing conventional parking stations can be converted to also cater for electric cars with dedicated spaces for electric vehicles,” suggests Samarin. Another answer may be found in the cars themselves.

Though it sounds futuristic, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab in collaboration with General Motors have developed the City Car – an electric car that is designed to be shared, efficient and foldable. According to the MIT website, when folded the City Car measures only a couple of meters in length. What’s more, 500 City Cars can be parked in the same space taken by 83 traditional vehicles – that’s six times more space-efficient.

Samarin believes PUTS will reduce environmental damage as well as traffic congestion. In addition to emitting carbon dioxide, traditional cars release “carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, lead and volatile organic compounds,” Samarin says. “In the CBD these dangerous chemicals accumulate and are restricted by very tall buildings.”

According to the City of Sydney Environmental Management Plan 2007, over 3.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas were released in the local government area (LGA) in 2006. Of this, 12 per cent – or 430 680 tonnes – was from transport.

With residents and governments searching for ways to improve the environment and their quality of living, Samarin believes now is the time to put PUTS on the political agenda: “We are giving governments the ability to implement their ideas and concepts in a very constructive way.

“However, the concept has to be sold to local government and to the state government and maybe to the federal government if they see it solves some of the environmental problems Australia-wide.”

Private investors need to be involved too. “Private enterprise will only risk this as a business venture if there is very strong support from the government,” says Samarin.

While some local governments may need to rethink their transport and environmental policies, it appears the City of Sydney is already heading in the right direction.

According to its Annual Report 2006/2007, the LGA is actively looking to reduce traffic congestion and emissions in the CBD. Over the past year it has continued to advocate for sustainable transport options which will ultimately reduce our carbon footprint and make Sydney a more pleasant city to live in.

Part of the City of Sydney’s commitment includes investigating the feasibility of a public bicycle hire scheme. While Vélib, France’s bicycle-sharing scheme, was the pre-cursor to Autolib, Samarin suggests Sydney could skip this step. “In France everybody rides bicycles. Here the distance is too far, you wouldn’t get business people to ride a pushbike.”

Instead, financial resources would be better invested in PUTS. By providing a car-share system that retains the convenience of a car and reduces the impact on the environment, Samarin believes drivers will make the switch.