Princeton University’s ambitious and influential campus plan for sustainable energy use reached another milestone this fall when the University celebrated its new fleet of electric buses and charging facilities at a grand opening ceremony Oct. 26. 

“TigerTransit’s 17 new electric buses advance our campus sustainability goals [and] exemplify the changes we are pursuing as an institution and as a society,” Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber said at the event, held at the University’s new bus-charging station at 755 Alexander St. in West Windsor. “They eliminate 500 metric tons of tailpipe emissions from the campus and local communities, annually. Our air is cleaner because of this project.”

The buses are part of a campus-wide plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions that is serving as a template for other universities and municipalities across the country, including a massive geo-exchange system for campus heating and cooling.

All of Princeton’s full-size buses are now fully electric. When the last diesel mini-buses are retired later this academic year, Princeton will be the first Ivy League university and one of very few transit or shuttle operations in the country that operates only emissions-free vehicles.