Spring Break
Electric cart fleet aids campus employees
Erik Lacayo
Daily Staff Writer
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Every day, electric carts ranging from the 2002 Gem to the1969 Cushman can be seen driving around campus, said SJSU mechanic David Ramirez.
About 90 carts are housed and maintained by Facilities Development and Operations at Corporation Yard, Ramirez said.
The carts can reach speeds of 25 to 30 mph, even though the speed limit on campus is 5 mph, said Ramirez, who has been working on electric carts for about eight years.
"We really have to maintain the older carts that we have," Ramirez said. "The older ones I check about twice a month, and the newer ones I check about once every two months.
Dante Dayanghirang, a Facilities Development and Operations employee for 24 years, says that he has been driving the same rusted and paint-chipped Taylor-Dunn cart since the 1980s.
"Its one of the oldest carts here," Dayanghirang said. "It looks like it's not OK, but it runs fine."
The electric carts are used for a variety of different tasks by different departments, Ramirez said.
SJSU painter Edgar DeLeon uses an orange Taylor-Dunn cart to haul his painting equipment around campus. On Tuesday, it was parked outside the Engineering building as DeLeon worked inside.
"You need to go very slow when driving," DeLeon said. "I have to be careful because students don't always see me coming."
Since the electric carts and students share the space, safety is always a concern. Anyone who drives a cart on campus is required to take a defensive driving course every four years, said Michaux Burchard, safety coordinator in the human resources department.
Two defensive driving courses will be held at SJSU on March 12, Burchard said.
"Carts on campus are necessary to get work done," Burchard said. "Unfortunately they share the same walkways as pedestrians."
According to a campus map drafted by Facilities Development and Operations, there are certain places on campus where carts are not allowed.
The map shows walkways by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Joint Library, Tower Hall and the Student Union off limits for carts.
Each cart has a telephone number on it that people can call to complain about reckless driving. Those calls are received by the human resources department at SJSU, Burchard said.
"About once every three or four months we'll get a complaint," Burchard said. "Every once in a while, I'll hear about somebody getting cut off, close calls or speeding."
Over the years, there have been incidents where carts have been stolen.
Ramirez said he remembers two specific occasions when electric carts have been taken.
Several years ago, a cart went missing and was found the next day near a fraternity house, Ramirez said.
More recently, he said, some high school students took a couple of carts. One of the carts was found as far away as Bascom
Dayanghirang also said his cart was stolen once when he was working a night shift, but it was found the next day.
Each cart on campus has a specific number to help Facilities Development and Operations keep track of them.
Some employees wanted to give them names but were not allowed to, Ramirez said.
"Facilities Development and Operations said no to names," Ramirez said.
Ramirez said that one employee painted flames on the sides of his cart. This was against the rules, and Ramirez had to remove the flames.
"They must be the same," Ramirez said. "No bumper stickers, either."
