On the Run Charging network to further expand across Canada
Over the next couple of years, On the Run Charging, a division of Parkland Corp., will significantly expanding the number of On the Run Charging sites across Canada.
There are 58 On the Run Charging locations in Canada, 52 of which are in British Columbia, having a total 218 charge ports for electric vehicles. All are located at Parkland gas stations with a convenience store and near major highways and intersections.
“British Columbia was where we started,” says Scott Sharabura, vice-president, operations, On the Run Charging. “That was our pilot program, if you will. Our focus for this year is on expanding [the network], particularly into Ontario and Quebec, and into Alberta a well. I’m quite excited to be serving EV drivers in Ontario and Quebec.”
The expansion plans will significantly increase the number of charging ports in the On the Run Charging network, bringing it up to 1,800 ports “which would be about 300 locations across Canada,” Sharabura adds.
He says the new sites will be important to the growing number of electric vehicle owners in Canada.
“We are very much taking our lead from customers on this, as Canadians are switching to electric vehicles in greater numbers,” Sharabura says. “We’re adding charging locations where there is a demonstrated demand for electric vehicle charging.”
Sharabura says the new charging locations will be in a greater number of urban areas where electric vehicle owners may not have access to home electric vehicle chargers, such as those living in condominiums that may have a limited number of available chargers, or where there are larger numbers of ride share and electric vehicle taxis operating that need frequent charging to operate.
READ: Parkland’s B.C. EV charging site has 12 charging stations
He adds that the locations that will have chargers installed with also be those Parkland sites that have an existing gas forecourt and On the Run convenience store, that will be attractive to electric vehicle owners to come to.
“We are focusing on sties that have a nice convenience store, often with a restaurant that will offer to customer hot foot, clean bathrooms and plenty of room to charge their vehicle,” he continues. “These will be sites that already comfortably accommodate fuel customers, so they would be a good fit for electric vehicle customer as well.”
Sharabura says such site will be make it easier to incentivise electric vehicle owners to use the convenience operation to purchase food, drinks and other products as their vehicles charge, as the average time people spend charging their vehicle is about 20 minutes. That is opportune for someone to go into the convenience store and sit down for a meal, purchase other items and use other conveniences on offer.
To support the expansion of the charging network, Sharabura says On the Run Charging will be creating a campaign to introduce then charging points in Ontario and Quebec., and shortly On the Run Charging will open a 400-kilowatt charger in Delta, B.C., one of the fast chargers available. And the Journie loyalty app will soon have an EV charging feature added to make charging easier and more convenient for vehicle owners.
