Currently, TU/e Real Estate Management is investigating whether or not the realization of the gas station for biofuel –which will be dubbed Elixer– is financially feasible. The station to fill up on biofuel is supposed to be set up north of Gemini Noord near the Automotive Lab. Elixer is supposed to include two electric charging stations. The current charging station at Mechanical Engineering will be removed by late 2014, upon the start of the second phase of the Green Strip project when the area will become car-free.

The charging stations are being evaluated right now, to get an idea about how often they’re used. If it turns out they’re being used more and more, Real Estate Management will build extra stations, but it doesn’t show from preliminary measurements yet. One of the explanations for that is the delayed delivery of electric cars.

An earlier survey showed that 25 percent of car users are willing to travel to TU/e using other means of transportation, as long as there’s some kind of incentive. For traveling up to twenty kilometers an e-bike turned out to be an especially popular solution, so this year there was a pilot for which TU/ faculty were provided with a free e-bike or e-scooter to try out for a week. A questionnaire filled out by 140 people showed that 29 percent would certainly use the e-bike, 19 percent said it was likely, 16 percent probably wouldn’t, and 7 percent would never. Those who couldn’t be convinced to use an e-bike mentioned the weather, picking up their children, or luggage as reasons. So far there’s no follow-up for the e-bike and e-scooter pilot yet.

Real Estate Management and Internal Affairs are looking at several options, such as a joint purchase of e-bikes, which could cut the costs by perhaps twenty percent. The purchase includes a service package for breakdowns. TU/e could also prepay the bikes, after which the remaining sum will be taken out of faculty salary.