Carsten Hoffmeister of Infrastructure and Facility Services, within the Facility Management division, explains: “Twenty percent of the central administration vehicle fleet is now electrically powered, with plans in place to increase this percentage in the next few years.” He notes that “Central administration is leading the way in this area,” with the institutes to gradually follow suit. It makes sense to switch over to e-mobility entirely on smaller, peripheral campus areas like Poppelsdorf and Endenich, which allow efficient use of short-range electric vehicles.
The biggest advantage of making the fleet more electric is, of course, reducing CO2 emissions in the interest of greater sustainability. There are budget benefits as well however, as “Some fleet vehicles are only driven around 4,000 kilometers in a given year, which is not good for combustion engines, making them wear out quickly,” explains Inga Bauhaus, head of the Transport Services and Garage subsection. Electric cars thus significantly reduce wear-and-tear costs in addition to affording lower regular maintenance costs.
Charging stations are found at many University locations, including the new fleet lot at Bornheimer Straße 230, the Deutscher Herold building, Endenich campus and (perhaps unexpectedly) the arcade courtyard of the University Main Building. Employees who want to reserve a vehicle or book a transport service can select a specific e-vehicle.