Plug-in pitstop: City of Vincent ranger Russell Hallberg and mayor Emma Cole ready for a fast charge.

ELECTRIC cars will soon be able to make a pitstop for a recharge in Vincent.

The council has agreed to loan Evie Networks two car bays at Chelmsford carpark for two fast electric vehicle chargers.

A few Vincent locals have been asking for public chargers and some residents wanted to install their own on the verge, but that’s not allowed under Western Power regulations. 

While there’s been some demand the price of a public charger has been prohibitive: Mayor Emma Cole says the fast chargers would cost up to $100,000 to buy and install and it hadn’t been feasible for Vincent to pay for until Evie’s offer came along. 

“With electric vehicles becoming more popular across Australia, many residents and visitors have been asking for more charging stations in Vincent,” Ms Cole said in a press release.

“There is a growing demand to improve access to charging stations as many older apartments in Mount Lawley and Highgate do not have access to fast charging infrastructure and homes without onsite parking can also find it more difficult to charge at home.

“By supporting Evie Networks‚Äô two fast chargers, we are making it more feasible and accessible for locals to make the switch to electric cars and reduce air pollution in Vincent.”

The fast chargers are pricy but they’re a lot more useful than the slow chargers: Thrifty Cockburn council spent $8,000 on two slow chargers but in the first year they only accrued 51 minutes of total charging time. Those slow ones only transfer enough juice in one hour to travel about 16km so few drivers were willing to wait around, while Chelmsford’s fast charge cables will be able to transmit 50km of driving range in just 10 minutes.