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When the University’s senior leaders were looking for a service-related department to consider alternative energy vehicles, Central Stores answered the call and has added a hybrid service vehicle to its fleet.
This hybrid van will be used to transport Central Stores staff around both on and off campus, primarily using electric power. The van will support Central Stores’ services, including freight and mail pickup and delivery, bulk mailing, shipping, receiving, office/departmental moves, event setup, and other initiatives.
Central Stores previously used a Dodge Caravan as a people mover, and the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid was seen as a suitable replacement.
“In the service sector globally, there is a high demand for energy and fuel to perform daily tasks,” says Joel Norris, manager of Central Stores. “Currently, electric vehicles have a limited range, and in the commercial service sector they could be exhausted prior to the end of a working day. A hybrid vehicle gives a backup fuel source when the electric power is depleted, and if extra energy is required, the gasoline engine can take over.”
Central Stores has a charging station dedicated to this vehicle located at East Campus Hall.
Vice-President, Administration and Finance Dennis Huber, Rob McMurren of Central Stores, President Feridun Hamdullahpur, and Joel Norris, manager of Central Stores with the new van.
Central Stores sees this hybrid vehicle technology as a way of extending the unit’s Green Initiative portfolio, which currently includes:
President Hamdullahpur and Vice-President, Administration & Finance Dennis Huber were the driving force behind this initiative, says Norris, and Ron Coulter of Plant Operation’s Sign Shop created the van decals that identify this as a University vehicle. The slogan “Hybrid Efficiency – Breaking Through The Fuel Barrier” is being used to promote Central Stores’ green commitment.
This is not the end of Central Stores’ green efforts. “Adding commercial-use hybrid or electric-only box trucks or cargo vans to replace our gas-only units will be a priority when the technology is both available and practical,” says Norris. Central Stores is also committed to working closer with other University departments and student groups to enhance green initiatives on campus.
“Starting the process to move to alternative energy vehicles, for environmental reasons, is the right thing to do and it will pave the way to when the technology enables commercial vehicles to use electric power,” says Norris.
Norris notes that this hybrid passenger van has been numbered 1-1, indicating that this is the first of hopefully many hybrid vehicles in the University’s fleet.
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.