Friday 29 March 2024

225 electric charging stations  being installed for car sharing scheme

A total of 225 electric car charging stations have started being installed across Malta by Car Sharing Services Malta, a subsidiary of CAR2GO Israel, which will soon roll out the island’s first national car sharing scheme using environmentally friendly vehicles. 

This €8 million initiative, which will be operated under the brand name GoTo Malta and run in collaboration with Transport Malta, forms part of the government’s vision to introduce innovative transportation modes, reduce dependency on private cars and contribute towards Malta’s target to have 5,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2020.

Car Sharing Services Malta CEO Liran Golan said: “We are preparing to launch a green alternative mode of transport in Malta, which we are confident that in the medium term will help address traffic congestion.”

The scheme works by enabling the public to use cars for one-way journeys placed at strategic spots around the island. In Israel, where this service is already in operation, it is estimated that an average of 14 cars were replaced where the car sharing initiative was introduced.

The 225 charging pillars will be set up across Malta and Gozo by the end of next year to support a fleet of 150 electric cars. 

In the coming days, the operators will start painting the first of the 450 designated parking spaces across Malta and Gozo in orange with an illustration of an electric car.

The first localities being targeted are Sliema, Birżebbuġa, Ta’ Xbiex, Attard, Gżira, Msida, Ħamrun, Fgura and Gudja, among others. Over the next five weeks, works will start in Naxxar, Mosta, Lija, Mellieħa, and St Julian’s.

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