By Daimon Eklund | Nov 5, 2015

The University of Washington was honored this week by the Intelligent Transportation Services of America, along with the Washington State Department of Transprotation and Gov. Jay Inslee's administration, for leadership in advancing the use of electric vehicles.

The National Smart Solutions Spotlight Award serves to "shine a spotlight on the things that are changing our future," said Sabrina Sussman, vice president for membership and development at ITS America. UW Fleet Services has added 14 electric vehicles this year and expects to have a total of 42 by June 2016. The UW has also expanded the number of electric-vehicle charging stations for faculty, staff and student use. There are six permanent charging stations in five different lots around campus, as well as another nine temporary stations available. 

"We believe that electric vehicles should be a cornerstone of a clean-fuel strategy, because they’re generation-neutral," UW Director of Transportation Josh Kavanagh said Monday. "They allow us to build out an infrastructure for green vehicles today that will become even greener as we make improvements to electricity generation."

For more information on the award and the charging stations, read the story on the Transportation Services blog. See more photos of the award ceremony at the Transportation Services Facebook page.