Washington University in St. Louis has acquired three electric shuttles as part of its Danforth Campus fleet.
The shuttles will be on display at the Earth Day Festival in Forest Park April 22-23. Attendees can park in WashU’s East End garage and ride a university shuttle to the event on the Muny grounds.
The electric shuttles will be in use on campus in coming weeks. They will include bike racks, a long-sought feature that encourages faculty, staff and students to take advantage of lower-carbon transportation options.
“This is the beginning of what it means to advance sustainability in all university operations and to contribute to the social responsibility of the region and the world,” said Shantay Bolton, executive vice chancellor and chief administrative officer. “Our goal to take sustainable concepts and transform them into actionable innovative strategies ensures that we as an institution work to live out environmental care in our community.”
The pilot electric shuttle fleet will grow to five vehicles in coming months, and the university and WeDriveU, WashU’s new shuttle service provider, will evaluate the potential to add more electric vehicles to the fleet.