News & Reviews News Wire Swedes prank electric car show with a 100-year-old electric streetcar NEWSWIRE

Swedes prank electric car show with a 100-year-old electric streetcar NEWSWIRE

By Angela Cotey | December 2, 2019

| Last updated on November 3, 2020


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GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Leave it to Swedes to come up with the politely sharp repartee rail promoters often lack by taking a vintage streetcar to a cutting edge electric automobile show.

Western Sweden’s public transit manager, Västtrafik, is responsible for the glossy, deadpan exhibit at eCarExpo in Gothenburg — which the transport provider claims is the largest electric car show in Sweden.

In a news release, Västtrafik CEO Lars Backström says that while electric cars are part of a solution to “urban challenges,” they are only part of the solution.

“Many people are talking about the electric car revolution, but at the moment only about half a percent of all car trips in Sweden are electric,” Backström says. “Public transport in Western Sweden is already 45 percent electric, and by next year that number will be 65 percent. We certainly encourage the transition within the automotive industry, but it takes time to change an entire business. Mass transit is already sustainable and now we’re taking another leap.”

More information is available online. 

— From a Västtrafik news release. Dec. 2, 2019.

9 thoughts on “Swedes prank electric car show with a 100-year-old electric streetcar NEWSWIRE

  1. They deserve credit for devising a creative approach to transportation. It especially makes sense in the relatively crowded and geographically limited areas of Europe, but could be useful in several larger and mid-sized cities in the U.S.

  2. The most difficult problem facing U.S. politicians and planners is talking people out of their cars and into public transportation options as population centers become more dense..

  3. Goteborg (Gothenburg) has a great tram system. The locals use it far more than cars from what I could see. My one hope is that Sweden will re-introduce trams to more cities in their country

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