Corporate March
25, 1999 |
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UC Riverside Students and Faculty "Plug in" to 21st Century Transportation Concept
- IntelliShare Program Tests Community Vehicle Sharing - |
Torrance, California, March 25, 1999 --- American Honda Motor Co., Inc. issued the following press release on March 24, 1999 local time.
More than 200 students and faculty at the University of California, Riverside,
are sharing 15 Honda EV PLUS electric vehicles for their daily driving needs through
the IntelliShare program, conducted by the University's College of Engineering
Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) with support from American
Honda Motor Co., Inc.
The IntelliShare program was demonstrated at a press conference today at University
Village in Riverside. The program is part of Honda's international Intelligent
Community Vehicle System (ICVS). Following several years of research using computer
simulations, the demonstration - which will run for up to a year - will provide
a real-world test of ICVS in an urban environment, allowing researchers to further
refine the technology.
"Growing populations, increasing congestion and environmental concerns are making
our transportation challenges more complex," said Robert Bienenfeld, advanced
environmental vehicle marketing manager for American Honda. "The IntelliShare
community vehicle program is a way for Honda to explore solutions that may enhance
the convenience, efficiency and environmental responsibility of the transportation
system."
Each IntelliShare member receives a smart card, which gives them access to an
EV PLUS from one of three port locations: University Village, the College of Engineering
and CE-CERT. After entering information about estimated trip time and distance
at the kiosk located at each port, the system assigns a vehicle to the IntelliShare
user. The smart card also unlocks the car and turns it on. When not in use, the
electric vehicles are charged at each port.
Honda R&D is working closely with the University to research the logistics, management
and technology of car sharing. Honda's participation includes research assistance,
funding, vehicle maintenance and insurance, in addition to providing the EV PLUS
vehicles.
IntelliShare is the latest U.S. project in Honda's vision for an ICVS. In the
San Francisco Bay Area, 60 residents share use of 12 natural gas-powered Civic
GX sedans as part of CarLink, a research project including Honda, the Institute
of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis, Bay Area Rapid
Transit (BART) and others.
Last year, Honda began public demonstration of ICVS at its Twin Ring Motegi motorsports
complex in Tochigi, Japan. Users check out small electric cars and electric bicycles
as needed to commute around the 1,600-acre facility.
"Honda's vision of an Intelligent Community Vehicle System is to conserve the
use of land and other resources by maximizing the use of each vehicle in the transportation
network," said Bienenfeld. "At the same time, we continue to lead the industry
in developing and marketing environmentally sensitive vehicles such as the EV
PLUS electric vehicle, the natural-gas powered Civic GX and the new Honda hybrid."
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