BATHURST Regional Council is happy to be getting in early when it comes to electric vehicles, according to its economic development manager.
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Steve Bowman says the city's vehicle charging stations near the Bathurst Visitor Information Centre have the potential to provide a tourism jolt as electric vehicles become more mainstream.
"We've now, I think, got the biggest electric vehicle charging presence in the Central West, other than Dubbo, which also has a supercharging station which they launched at around the same time as us," Mr Bowman said.
"Basically, what we wanted to be able to do was to bring tourists out here to Bathurst.
"And, let's face it, people who own electric vehicles like Teslas normally have a particular socio-economic profile.
"They have got disposable income and they're the kind of people that we want to attract out here: people who are going to spend money in the economy."
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Bathurst had a temporary Tesla supercharger in the CBD for about a year before the permanent six-bay supercharger hub near the information centre was switched on in April.
The NRMA has a charger in the same location that, recent figures show, was used 24 times in July.
And why not wait until electric vehicle use is more widespread?
"Because we want to be early adopters," Mr Bowman said.
"We know, by looking at case studies over in Europe and other places in the world, the future is going to be electric vehicles.
"So we thought we'll be on the front foot and start adopting it as soon as possible.
"Being so close to Sydney, it makes sense for us to be able to invest in these new technologies.
"Being only two-and-a-half to three hours from Sydney, it's realistic to think that Tesla drivers will come out here."
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The Tesla Owners Club of Australia held its national rally in Bathurst in mid-August, which included visits to local museums, two dinners, the club's annual general meeting and a lap of Mount Panorama.
The NRMA, meanwhile, installed two electric vehicle fast charging stations at Lithgow Workies in late August to go with its stations at Bathurst, Parkes, Orange and Dubbo.
The NRMA says the Lithgow addition now provides a full connection from Sydney to the Central West for electric vehicle owners.
Mr Bowman said one of the aims of council's Smart Community initiative - which uses technology to make the city more liveable - is to have Bathurst known as a centre of innovation.
