By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
PRINCETON — As they quietly zip around campus and nearby streets, Princeton University’s new electric vehicles have been drawing stares from drivers as well as pedestrians.
”Everybody kind of gives us a look,” said control shop supervisor Bob Talarick, who drives one.
They may look a little unusual, but the two-passenger vehicles are on the cutting edge of green technology.
Part of the university’s sustainability initiative, they’ are powered entirely by electricity, meaning they produce no carbon emissions.
Rather than filling up at a gas station, the vehicles are plugged into 220-volt outlets every night, when electricity is less expensive, according to Roger Demareski, assistant vice president for facilities, who is overseeing the pilot program.
It also means that more of the energy is derived from nuclear sources, a better choice for the environment than coal, Mr. Demareski said.
”We’re charging when it’s less expensive, and it’s cleaner,” he said.
The vehicles can travel 55 miles on a single charge, moving at speeds up to 25 mph.
The university’s first set of electric wheels hit the streets this summer, and the fleet now numbers six.
Five are used by various facilities shops and the Building Department, and the university’s Department of Communications uses one for a photographer to drive around campus.
Where Mr. Talarick used to drive around a gas-powered truck, he now drives an electric vehicle around campus, as he goes about his job of managing the heating and cooling systems on campus.
Sitting next to a Ford Ranger in the parking lot of the MacMillan building on campus, the vehicle’s profile is certainly unique, but it’s not much smaller.
”Size-wise, it’s not that much different,” Mr. Demareski said.
Behind the wheel, the vehicles are responsive and quick, and the electric engine is almost silent.
”When you step on it, you don’t hear nothing,” Mr. Talarick said.
For safety, flashing strobe lights were installed in the vehicles, two on the back and one on top, which come on automatically.
The vehicles were purchased from e-ride Industries. When selecting a manufacturer, both the capacity of the vehicles and the strength of their frame was taken into consideration, Mr. Demareski said.
”Since we were going to be on public roads, safety was important,” Mr. Demareski said.
The vehicle used by Mr. Talarick was outfitted with storage units along the side for tools and equipment, as well as a rack on top for ladders. It can carry up to 900 pounds of equipment.
For the pilot program, it was decided to start off with just a handful of vehicles to see how it went. He admitted that it was a transition for the staff who was accustomed to driving gas powered vehicles.
”Change no matter what you do is never an easy thing,” he said.
Mr. Demareski said the effectiveness of the vehicles is being monitored to determine if the university will purchase more in the spring, when new vehicles are normally acquired.
The university currently utilizes 200 gas powered maintenance vehicles. If the pilot program is a success, more of the electric vehicles will be phased in under the university’s normal vehicle replacement schedule, he said.
They cost about the same as a regular bare bones truck used by facilities, but savings are seen in gas and in maintenance, Mr. Demareski said. No oil changes are needed for the electric engines.
The university obtained permission earlier this year to drive the vehicles on roads where the speed limit is higher.
State law permits the vehicles on roads with speed limits up to 25mph. However, approval from the municipality is required for their use on roadways with speed limits of 35 mph.
An ordinance was adopted by West Windsor Township Council in June that permitted the vehicles to operate on Alexander Road in both directions between the West Windsor and Princeton line and Canal Pointe Boulevard, and on Canal Pointe Boulevard in both directions for its entire length, according to the ordinance. The speed limit on both roads is 35 mph.
The roads will provide access to a facility the university will lease at 701 Carnegie Center, where about 300 of its employees will work, and a maintenance facility on Harrison Street.
The Princeton Township Committee adopted a similar amendment in March, allowing the vehicles to be used on some of its roads as part of the university’s maintenance work.
The vehicles will also be used on the university’s campus in Princeton Borough, where the speed limit is 25 mph.
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Staff photo by Mark CzajkowskiPacket staff writer Kristine Snodgrass checks out the dashboard before taking a test drive in one of Princeton University’s electric vehicles last week.
