University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth) has undertaken several initiatives to increase education and awareness of electric vehicles (EVs) within the campus community, and is also investing in EV infrastructure and operations. The objective, says Jamie Jacquart, Assistant Director for Campus Sustainability, is “to see that electric vehicles are something that are becoming mainstream and normalized and part of everybody’s experiences.”
UMass Dartmouth’s main campus has two dual port EV charging stations. The university has been working with Eversource and the State Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to finance and install additional EV charging stations on campus.
Last year, UMass Dartmouth held the campus’s first EV test drive event to provide students with the opportunity to look at and test out some electric vehicles, including electric bicycles. For many students, it was their first EV driving experience. The school also provided information about the wide range of EVs available on the market. Many students saw the price as not being a financial barrier.
For them, “EVs were not as expensive as they had thought initially,” Jamie says.
UMass Dartmouth’s main campus hosts two dual port EV charging stations and is working with Eversource and the State Department of Environmental Protection to finance and install additional electric vehicle charging stations on campus. The school plans to add an additional ten dual port chargers to help service the 18 EVs that are being driven to campus on a regular basis.
UMass Dartmouth recently purchased its first electric plugin vehicle, a Prius Prime for parking enforcement staff, with a pledge to add at least one more in 2021. “They are thrilled and excited to be able to drive and spend most of their day on electricity, rather than having to constantly be using gasoline to do that,” says Jamie.
To learn more about UMass Dartmouth, visit umassd.edu. To download the complete MassEVolves UMass Dartmouth PDF case study, click here.
MassEVolves is a statewide initiative conducted by Recharge America in partnership with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Environmental Protection. More information about the MassEVolves program is at massevolves.org.