Pilot projects

Plug and Ride electric vehicle recharging stations

King County Metro Transit has launched a program to promote the use of existing charging stations at park-and-rides. The program is offered principally for the benefit of individuals who purchase and use battery electric vehicles and who are most likely to be dependent upon vehicle recharging stations at park-and-ride lots. The pilot program includes the gathering of data on demand and usage to determine if growth in demand for electric plug-in outlets warrants the future expansion of charging stations at park-and-rides.

The county is now registering owners of electric vehicles who will use the park-and-ride facilities to recharge their electric vehicles while using transit. Two park-and-rides currently have plug-in outlets:

• Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride, at 1755 Highlands Drive in Issaquah, has 14 outlets (12 on Level One and 2 on Level 3).
• Eastgate Park-and-Ride, at 14200 SE Eastgate Way in Bellevue, has 3 outlets on Level 1.

Twelve additional outlets are scheduled to come online with the completion of the Redmond Park-and-Ride in spring 2009.

To register, electric vehicle owners should call 206-625-4500 or visit www.rideshareonline.com/electric.

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Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle pilot project

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology has the potential to dramatically reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions by moving vehicles away from gasoline and fossil fuels to cleaner alternative energy. The Puget Sound region is well suited to spearhead the use of electricity as a clean alternative energy source because much of the electricity produced here comes from hydropower.

King County is committed to being a nationwide leader in the commercialization of this technology. As a first step, it is converting four existing Toyota Priuses to PHEVs as part of a joint research project with Idaho National Labs and three other regional agencies: the City of Seattle, the Port of Seattle, and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. This research will collect valuable performance data that will lead to better electric vehicle technology—technology that will one day transform the automobile industry as we know it.

King County is pleased to be a part of this groundbreaking pilot project because we are serious about supporting the transition of the automobile to clean-powered electricity.

For more information about this project, contact:

Melody Bennett
206-205-1160
melody.bennett@kingcounty.gov

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