Sustainable solutions are the future of transport and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council is doing what it can to support the Government's plans to double the number of electric vehicles every year, says regional council chair Doug Leeder.

'Organisations like ours have staff like Kerry Gosling who due to the nature of their work are required to travel regularly,” says Doug.

'We are testing electric vehicle use and determining the financial viability of expanding our fleet and providing electric bikes to build an awareness amongst our staff and the wider public about the benefits of these low emission travel solutions.”

Kerry is a regional council community engagement manager who travels regularly around the Bay of Plenty talking with communities about environmental sustainability.

Kerry's work vehicle for nearly two years now has been a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (Petrol Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a move that Kerry says has many benefits.

'Not only do I feel relieved that I am contributing to a sustainable environment by driving around in a low emission vehicle, but that my organisation is also looking at other options to help staff reduce their environmental footprint, with electric bikes purchased for use around town.”

She says charging the PHEV vehicle is easy – you simply plug it in. There are a number of stations located across the region, with a couple of these charging stations funded the Bay of Plenty Regional Council through their Bay of Connections collaborative group.

'Instead of paying $2 for a litre of petrol, charging my work vehicle equates to paying around 30 cents a litre of petrol, I don't think I have paid for fuel at that price for decades."