The ESB has launched a new community-based electric car-sharing scheme with a pilot project based in Leitrim.
For use by community vounteers
As part of the project, the ESB - supported by Leitrim County Council - will provide an Opel Corsa-e to the Leitrim Volunteer Centre, which can be used by any of the volunteers who drive local people to and from important medical appointments. Until now, those volunteers have used their own cars, but the Leitrim Volunteer Centre will now be able to manage the use of the Corsa-e for some of those journeys.
As part of the scheme, Leitrim County Council will also install a new charging point at The Hive in Carrick-on-Shannon for use by the Volunteer Centre, which will remain in place when the pilot scheme has finished.
Vital service
Leitrim Volunteer Centre has 27 volunteers and 40 clients, and Josephine Stroker, manager of the Centre, said: "We are delighted to be part of this exciting initiative. It will be an invaluable addition to the Leitrim Community Car Scheme, which provides a vital service to those who use it in County Leitrim. The scheme transports people to essential medical appointments with the support of an amazing, dedicated and selfless group of volunteers."
Speaking at the launch of the pilot in Carrick-on Shannon, Donal Phelan, Innovation Manager at ESB, said: "ESB is delighted to launch a new pilot which was developed in our X_Potential Incubator programme. This pilot is another example of our commitment to testing innovative, sustainable initiatives that will enable electrification of transport to be affordable and accessible. We are proud to support the work being done by Leitrim Volunteer Centre and look forward to seeing how this pilot will help their service offering while we also commend Leitrim County Council for supporting this important project."
337km range
The ESB has leased the Corsa-e from Enterprise for the purposes of the project, and its claimed maximum range of 337km is reckoned to be plenty for the Volunteer service. The ESB says that the pilot project aims to " assess the needs and demands of community and rural EV-sharing initiatives, and to develop electric transport solutions to complement the plans recently set out in the revised Climate Action Plan." There is potential for other community groups and even residents to be allowed the use of the car, but that's still pending.
The Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council, Ita Reynolds Flynn, commended the project and added: "Leitrim County Council is delighted to support this initiative by supporting the installation of the EV chargers. The project also complements the ongoing Sustainability Mobility Pathfinder project that Leitrim County Council is leading out on as prioritised by the Department of Transport Pathfinder programme."