Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice-Chancellor, UWinnipeg, test drives electric vehicle on campus, June 30, 2011
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg, in partnership with the Province of Manitoba, today unveiled a Low-Speed Vehicle – a small electric truck – on its downtown campus as part of a pilot project to test its safety and performance. The truck gets recharged by plugging it in to a normal electrical outlet.
UWinnipeg Physical Plant and Security employees will use the utility vehicle to transport goods from building to building, along a designated campus route that includes short drives down Young, Langside, Spence and Balmoral Streets. The vehicle, which has a maximum speed of 40 km per hour, will not be used on Portage Avenue. In addition, Dr. Danny Blair, Chair of the Department of Geography & Principal of the Richardson College for the Environment, UWinnipeg, is installing a GPS to track and record the location and speed of the vehicle.
The Manitoba Government has launched an Electric Vehicle Road Map that will help it adopt electric and hybrid vehicles, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and take advantage of the economic opportunities of electric transportation. “We want to see how this particular battery-powered, small utility truck operates in mixed urban traffic and handles our climate, especially over next winter,” said Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation Steve Ashton. “We hope to learn more about how we can use these vehicles to ensure transportation becomes more sustainable in Manitoba.”
Engine – electric vehicle
“One of our key objectives at UWinnipeg is to achieve zero net greenhouse-gas emissions. Piloting the use of electric vehicles to move across our campus is a tangible demonstration of our ongoing commitment to green technologies,” said Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice-Chancellor, UWinnipeg. “It also allows us to help advance the Province’s commitment to obtaining a fleet of alternative, eco-friendly vehicles.”
The cost of the demonstration program of $120,000 is being shared equally between the Province and The University of Winnipeg and may see up to four such vehicles operated, through March 2013.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
