Since 2007, we’ve been helping develop green transportation at Google and beyond. With our RechargeIt initiative, we created a mini-fleet of plug-in hybrids and demonstrated EV technology. Just last year, we announced a major expansion of our own EV charging infrastructure, and transitioned Gfleet, our car-sharing program for Googlers, to an all plug-in fleet. And since then, we’ve more than tripled the number of faster level 2 electric vehicle chargers to over 240 today, and have doubled Gfleet to 52 plug-in vehicles. With the largest corporate charging infrastructure in the US, we’re getting closer to our goal of electrifying 5% of our parking spaces at the Googleplex!
Along with our biodiesel shuttle program, which transports about 4,500 Googlers to campus and back home every day, our programs reduce the stress of commuting for employees and the need to build expensive parking. The net environmental savings are like taking 3,000 cars off the road.
We think green transportation is great for the environment and for business. But the world needs to continue expanding the infrastructure necessary to support clean transportation, and there are still challenges ahead. At today’s forum, leaders from government, the transportation industry, and other companies will discuss these important issues -- from incentives for building owners and employees, to the impact of EV’s on the electricity grid. We’re excited by the possibilities, and hope the development and deployment of EV technology continues to accelerate.
Posted by Rolf Schreiber, Technical Program Manager, Electric Transportation
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