Tourism Fiji has added electric vehicles to its line of fleet, replacing all fuel-powered vehicles, a first for any Government organisation in Fiji.
The marketing agency opted for new rides as a sustainable measure towards the environment.
Tourism Fiji chief executive officer, Brent Hill, said such move was new for any business in Fiji.
“We explored the option to save money and to reinforce our sustainability targets and goals,” he said.
Tourism Fiji is leasing out the vehicles from EV Direct in Australia, and is insured by Fiji Care.
“We have been able to secure the BYD fully electric Atto 3, as our new pool cars,” Mr Hill said.
Through a lease arrangement, Tourism Fiji will bring in necessary charges.
It will reduce the organisation’s fossil fuel emission to zero.
There are five electric vehicles with the longest range of 480km, which allows travelling to and from Nadi to Suva in a single charge.
“The less we can rely on expensive fossil fuels, the better for our budgets and for the environment on which we rely on so much for our tourism dollar,” he said.
Fiji only has the MG range of electric vehciles available at Palas, said Mr Hill.
“We will be using solar chargers from Solar Hub Fiji that we are installing,” he said.
“The energy comes from the sun, and we won’t be emitting any fossil fuel carbon into the atmosphere.”
The decision is also to structure, rather than outright purchase, its fleet to allow cheaper maintenance cost.
“We need to make a concerted effort to show the industry and Fiji that there are solutions,” Mr Hill said.
“It hasn’t been easy to get the infrastructure sorted.
“It worth it to enable this change for the better and it will now be easier for others to follow suit.”
Charging ports are supplied by Solar Hub Fiji and the Switch network.
“There is now a critical mass of chargers on the key roads, to ensure that any need for charging around Fiji is simple,” he said.
Story By: Josefa Babitu
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