Tulane University Buys 5 Vicinity Electric Shuttle Buses
Tulane University has received $737,500 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the purchase of five electric Grand West Vicinity buses and the installation of private charging stations, New Orleans City Businessreports.
This initiative is a collaboration between Tulane University Campus Services and Tulane ByWater Institute along with local partners Alliance Bus Group, Entergy, and the Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership.
The new electric buses are slated to service the regular university shuttle route linking Tulane’s uptown and downtown campuses and affiliate programs. The project will span over three years, and during this time, Tulane staff will collect and analyze data on the new buses. This data will include the operating performance of the buses, their cost, and the goal of sharing Tulane’s experience with fleet managers in the New Orleans region as well as other universities.
Patrick Norton, Tulane’s senior vice president and chief operating officer, shared his thoughts in the university’s press release about the news. “This is an exciting opportunity for Tulane as we work to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that result from university operations,” said Norton. “Tulane’s shuttles are highly visible in the greater New Orleans area and our ridership averages over 160,000 annually. We are confident that the impacts of this project will extend beyond the boundaries of our physical campuses. By sharing our operational, financial, and environmental impact experiences and data, we hope to serve as a blueprint for other institutions in our region.”