Electric cars now allowed on some Quebec roads

Low-speed electric cars are nowallowed on some Quebec roads, thanks toa provincial pilot project testing the silent, fuel-efficient vehicles.

The Quebec government pilot project makes room on some roads for electric cars as of Thursday, as long as the plug-in vehicles follow certain rules.

Vehicles produced by two Canadian companies Nemo, based in Quebec, and Zenn, headquartered in Toronto can now operate on Quebec roads with posted speedlimits less than 50 km/h.

The vehiclesalso have to be outfitted with an orange triangle thatdenotes a slower vehicle.

Theproject is meant to gauge interest in the alternative vehicles and encourage their development and manufacturing.

The electric car's time has arrived, and peoples' interest is piqued, especially in lightof skyrocketing gas prices, saidIan Clifford,CEO of Zenn.

"You can almost track the hits to our website based on the increasing cost of gasoline," he said in an interview with Canadian Press at the company'sQuebec factory in Saint-Jrme,north of Montreal. "There's a real convergence now of conditions that make [an] electric drive the real sensible choice for the future."

"Electricity is our only sustainable fuel if you think about it on the planet, and we believe that over the next five, six years we're going to see a massive adoption of electric vehicles on a global scale."

Cliffordsaid the cost of driving an electric car does vary, depending on one's driving habits, but on average would work out to about a cent per kilometre for a Zenn car.

The Zenn, which stands forzero emissions no noise,meets provincial safety standards forlow-speed vehicles.

It can log between50and 80 kilometres on a charge.

The vehiclerecharges through a regular plug that fits a standard electrical outlet.

The Zenn will cost about $16,000.

NecessitymotheredZenn's invention

Clifford said he used to drive a "classic" electric car built in 1959, but came up empty-handed when he went looking fora newer model.

That spurred him to start building electric cars.

Quebec's pilot project is a proactive, positive step in the right direction, Clifford said.

British Columbia has already passed legislation that allowsthe low-speed vehicles to be driven on 40-km/h roadways.

The B.C. lawincludeslegal measures thatpermitmunicipalities to createbylawsforlow-speed cars to travel on higher-speed roads.

Several municipalities in B.C. have shown interest in wider road access for electric vehicles.

Ontario is testing the technology through a five-year project that allows the vehicles in provincial parks. Some provincial employees are also trying out the vehicles.

Other provinces are also curious about the vehicles, with "Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Alberta looking very seriously" at thetechnology, Clifford said. "We hope to certainly see some movement from them in the coming months."

Rules for vehicle use on roads falls under provincial jurisdiction, but Transport Canada oversees safety standards. The federal agencyhas recommended that low-speed vehicles be used in gated communities and enclosed areas.

"What the main concern is is that the [low-speed vehicle] must meet a minimum level of safety, the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards," said Maryse Durette, a Transport Canada spokeswoman in Ottawa, in an interview with the Canadian Press.

"When putting one of those vehicles in traffic with other vehicles, the safety issues are what are the concerns of Transport Canada."

Durettesaidthe vehicles have to carryan identification number to track ownership, a seatbelt assemblyand must meet low-speed vehicle class standards, includinga maximum speed of 40 km/h.

Regular cars have to meetmore than 40 standards.