Less than three months after launching the first free-of-charge public electric vehicle (EV) charging station in the parking area of the Bellville Civic Centre, the City of Cape Town launched its second station in the parking area of the Somerset West Civic Centre.

“eMobility offers the City and its residents an opportunity to create a healthier, more inclusive metro,” the CoCT said in a press release. “As a proactive climate change response, it will help enable our COVID-19 recovery.”

The sites have been chosen because of their “convenient, safe and visible locations”.

“The City is supporting the uptake of eMobility and is developing initiatives to help enable the growth of this technology in Cape Town, so that it can become more accessible and rolled out in the future across all transport modes to benefit all of our residents,” said Councillor Phindile Maxiti, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy and Climate Change.

In the statement, the City confirms its support of the uptake of eMobility and is developing initiatives to help enable the growth of this technology in Cape Town so that it can “become more accessible and rolled out in the future across all transport modes to benefit all of our residents”.

In support of the growing global momentum to tackle climate change, the City of Cape Town, along with cities in South Africa and worldwide, committed to achieving carbon neutrality and climate resilience by 2050 to keep global warming to 1.5˚C, which can only be reached through significant transitions in urban form, energy sources, transport and resource efficiency.

“A key element is cleaning up our sources of electricity and the electrification of transport,” stated Maxiti.