November 1, 1999
Faculty, staff invited to test-drive the 'car of the future'
By Francine Tyler
For the second time in two months, the fleet of cars maintained by Transportation
& Parking Services (TAPS) includes an all-electric car. Honda's electric vehicle,
on loan from the California Environmental Protection Agency, is available for faculty
and staff to test drive during the month of November.
Any interested faculty and staff can take the car "out for a spin," whether
their interest is job-related or merely personal, said Wes Scott, Fleet Services
manager and director of TAPS. "We're just exposing people to the electric car."
Earlier this fall, the state's EPA provided the campus with General Motor's all-electric
car, the EV1. The vehicles have been taking a tour of city and county government
agencies and educational institutions in the local area.
Electric vehicles, because they rely on electrical power rather than fossil fuels,
are being touted as "vehicles of the future" that will help reduce pollution
and smog in California and other states.
Automobile manufacturers are under mandate to make electric cars 10 percent of all
vehicles sold in California by 2003--amounting to about 100,000 electric vehicles
a year. The mandate is part of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Fleet Services currently has no plans to purchase EV1s or other electric vehicles as part of the campus's fleet, said Scott. "As nice as it would be, it's not practical for us yet in terms of the costs and benefits," he said.
For more information or to schedule a test-drive, call Wes Scott at (831) 459-4289.
