Readers’ pick: Electric maintenance carts
The wind was in my hair as we cruised down H Street.
Charlie Wurz and I weaved through campus in the fully electric two-seater, its oversized windows offering a panoramic view of a street teeming with students, scooters and tourists drifting towards the Tidal Basin’s cherry blossoms. Wurz, GW’s director of transportation and logistics, steered the tiny vehicle with practiced ease as I scanned the sidewalks, hoping a familiar face might spot me on the greatest ride of my life.
The EV’s electric murmur mingled with the chatter of students and faculty outside the School of Media & Public Affairs. Stopped at a red light, Wurz explained that at low speeds, federal regulations require electric vehicles to emit a subtle hum so pedestrians and other drivers can detect them in the absence of a traditional engine’s noise.
Wurz, a master of campus navigation, took me around as we chatted about the anti-rat trash cans officials installed in 2024. I stretched my legs in the spacious grey cabin, and for all their bulk, I doubt the gas-powered cars sharing the road had half the view we enjoyed.
These electric mini carts are ideal for GW’s maintenance workers because they can travel off-road to reach destinations like Gelman Library, Wurz explained. A far cry from maneuvering a full-sized truck, they save staff considerable time navigating campus, slipping into tight spaces without the constant backing, circling or squeezing that larger vehicles require.
After passing Tonic at Quigley’s, the package center and University President Ellen Granberg’s F Street House, we returned the cart to its home at the back of the Support Services building, just steps from Potomac Square and The Hatchet’s townhouse. Awaiting our arrival was Customer Engagement and Service Enhancement Specialist John Ralls, Associate Vice President of Campus Operations Nick Gingue and University spokesperson Skyler Sales — the team who had kindly arranged my ride.
It was, without question, the most fun I’ve had on campus streets. But don’t ask maintenance workers for a ride. I know from experience they’re not allowed to give one. You’ll just have to trust me that zipping around in one of these mini carts is the most glorious way to experience GW.
