As the temperatures rise, the electric Might-E-Truck, used for municipal bylaw enforcement, has seen more road time. However, it’s been a rocky road for the town’s first municipal electric vehicle during its first year.

More of a spring-summer-fall vehicle, given that its battery life is limited during the cold winter months, Doug Rodwell, manager of licensing and enforcement, grades the truck’s overall performance as “satisfactory.”

However, Rodwell’s report lists a number of drawbacks such as the vehicle’s ergonomics, which make the cabin uncomfortable for people six feet and taller; the emergency brake was improperly designed, but has been fixed; and the manufacturer could not provide an operating manual until this past February and they still have not been able to provide a technical manual for the vehicle.

Topping out at 40 km/h and costing the municipality $28,450.36, Jasper’s Might-E-Truck is part of a one-year pilot project with the province of Alberta and it is the only low speed vehicle (LSV) that is authorized for use on roads within the townsite.

Rodwell prepared a report on the Might-E-Truck for council that points to a number of positives. According to Rodwell, bylaw officers find the box height conducive to loading equipment or found property, the truck is easy to drive and the public, for the most part, enjoys seeing the Might-E-Truck out and about patrolling Jasper.

It is a zero emissions vehicle and the cost per kilometre, based on 2007 figures was two cents, said Verne Balding, director of corporate and legislative services, in December, when the truck arrived. The use of an LSV is also congruent with the community vision statement, said Balding, which “says that Jasper will be a model environmental community.” Rodwell’s report also states that “the environmental impact is clearly positive and in step with municipal policies and the beliefs of the community as a whole.”

Even though the truck has limited capabilities in the winter, “you can equip it with a battery blanket,” said Balding, adding that “it may be worth trying that to see how it affects the ability of the batteries to charge and hold a charge during the winter months, but its primary purpose is to be a downtown bylaw and parking control vehicle in the summer time. If it does that and it does that in ways we’re comfortable with, then I think we’ll be pretty happy with it,” he said.

The Banff Centre, which spans 43 acres and 16 major buildings, is also using a Might-E-Truck for their operations. “Things are going great,” said Mark Beese, associate director of facilities at the Banff Centre. “The guys love it, in part because they can get into job sites down narrow paths and stuff... a lot more areas are accessible that wouldn’t be in a full-size vehicle,” he said.

The Banff Centre’s truck is exclusively a utility vehicle, said Beese. “Our carpenters use it for going around campus to different job sites to transport tools back and forth ... The longest they’re in the truck at any one time is 15 minutes,” he said. “We believe ours is a good fit for the intended use,” Beese emphasized.

Beese, who said he spent a lot of time investigating electric vehicles before settling on the Might-E-Truck, said that “the primary purpose for the Might-E-Truck, I believe, is to transport material to and from job sites. I think there might be better vehicles on the market that would fit [Jasper’s] application better, like the Zenn car might be a better vehicle for that type of use,” said Beese.

Although the Zenn car does meet some crash test requirements and comes in at a lower price point than the Might-E-Truck, Balding explained that “one of the reasons that we chose the Might-E-Truck was because it had that potential utility and the idea at the time was that if it didn’t work out as a bylaw vehicle, that it may have a grounds application.” Balding also went on to say that other electric vehicles made in Canada are more designed as people movers, not people plus equipment movers.

Balding was introduced to the Might-E-Truck during a vacation in Whistler, when one drove by him in the pedestrian village. Balding also consulted with UBC and Whistler, which both use Might-E-Trucks for utility operations, he said. “The fleet manager in Whistler was really pleased with his,” said Balding.

Bylaw staff have also expressed concerns to Rodwell about the safety of the vehicle in the case of an accident. When introduced to Jasper, Chris Yanitski, vehicle standards engineer from Transportation Alberta, stated that the Might-E-Truck only meets three (lights, windshield, seatbelts) of the 40 standards dictated by the federal government and that is why the vehicle is restricted to the townsite.

“The review of the vehicle that was done when the operating permit was issued, considered operator safety and in the view of the province, given the locations where it’s going to be used and the speed limits in those locations, they feel that it’s appropriate,” said Balding, “so our program for now is we’re going to use it as a bylaw vehicle and see how it works out.”

“I think there are limitations,” said Balding, “but we knew that when we decided we were going to try to go this route.” Although limited in some applications, Rodwell’s report also stated that the Might-E-Truck “is an excellent augmentation to the hybrid vehicle currently operated by municipal enforcement services. Together, the two vehicles greatly reduce the department’s carbon footprint.”

Additionally, “the vehicle has been requested for use in both the local environment week and to represent the municipality as part of the Central Alberta Children’s Festival in Red Deer. The vehicle optimizes the cutting edge approach that the municipality of Jasper has taken to environmental awareness and action,” according to the report.

Both Balding and Rodwell also stated that the Might-E-Truck will be tried out in other departments, such as grounds crew over the next few months.