Electric car sharing scheme: Yoogo Share launches in Christchurch

Christchurch is now home to New Zealand’s first fully battery-powered electric car sharing scheme. Developed by Christchurch City Council and run by Yoogo Share, the scheme lets people hire electric vehicles at different points in the city.

Yoogo Share General Manager Kirsten Corson says it is the biggest deployment of electric cars in New Zealand, with Hyundai Ioniq and BMWi3 vehicles now available at several hubs in the city, including Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu and Christchurch International Airport.
Further hubs will be added in April, including The Crossing, Ara Institute, the University of Canterbury and the Lyttelton Community Centre. By then there will be 100 battery electric vehicles at 10 or more hubs across the city.
“This is an exciting new transport service powered by electricity that is largely generated from renewable energy,” says CCC Resource Efficiency Manager Kevin Crutchley, who was Project Manager for the scheme. “The result is a service with zero tail pipe emissions that will both reduce our city’s greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, which will have positive health benefits for the residents of Christchurch.”
Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel says she is proud that Christchurch is the first city in New Zealand, and one of the few cities internationally, that has such a service.
“It’s a smart and sustainable way for businesses and for local residents to get around town and I’m excited to see the service grow. [It] will deliver improved environmental and health outcomes and help the Council achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.”