Abstract
Cities have made efforts to incorporate electric vehicles into municipal vehicle fleets. By taking such actions, cities can showcase their commitment to supporting the shift towards electric vehicles and promoting public awareness regarding their use of electric vehicles. Cities being closely connected to the local context can play a facilitating role in the transition towards electric vehicles. City of Tshwane has embraced the transition towards electric vehicles by incorporating electric vehicles into its municipal vehicle fleet; however, it remains unclear how municipal officials perceive this transition and their contributions. Employing a qualitative research approach, this study examines views of municipal officials engaged in the transition towards electric vehicles and maps the locations of charging infrastructures. Twenty participants from the City of Tshwane Municipality were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Participants were selected using snowball and purposive sampling. The City of Tshwane municipal officials involved in the study include officials from corporate fleet management, sustainability unit, transport planners and spatial planners. Concepts such as electric vehicles, charging infrastructure technology, range anxiety, and spatial transformation were explored and studied, along with theoretical frameworks that include transition theory, multi-level perspective, transition management, and sociotechnical systems were explored and studied. The results of this study reveal that the City of Tshwane is taking promotive measures to introduce electric vehicle into its municipal vehicle fleet and aim to promote public awareness regarding the use of electric vehicles. However, concerns such as lack of regulatory frameworks and absence of funding to procure electric vehicles remain a concern. In addition, charging stations in the City of Tshwane were mapped using the dataset from electromaps.
Keywords: electric vehicles, electric vehicle transition, charging infrastructure, municipal vehicle fleet, energy transition.