The agreement, signed by Yitzhak Harel, director-general of Israel Railways, and Moshe Kaplinsky, CEO of Better Place,indicates that Better Place will submit a planning program for theparking lot shortly.
The pilot program, which will begin in the upcoming months, isanticipated to spread to approximately 220 charging locations at trainstations in Bat Galim, Central Haifa, Acre, Beit Yehoshua, Herzliya,Hod Hasharon, Rosh Ha'ayin, Petah Tikva Segula, Kiryat Arie PetahTikva, Bnei Brak, and Pe'atei Modi'in.
Israel Railways will erect signs to accompany the electric car charging stands, instructing people how to charge their vehicles.
Thenew charging stations will allow the thousands of Israelis who parktheir cars in Israel Railways parking lots everyday to charge theirvehicles while they ride the trains. Better Place will oversee thecharging docks' installation, as well as any necessary upkeep.
"The train works as an economic growth stimulator," said Harel,"and it contributes to improving the quality of life by chargingthousands of cars that drive along Israel's roads and eliminatingairborne vehicle pollutants."
Regarding the charging docks' development,Kaplinsky said on Sunday that the "clean transportation transitionrequires preparation of all the transportation in Israel." Better Place knows the importance of achieving public transportsolutions for existing transportation, integrating and operating mostof the electric vehicle, infrastructure, and public transport.Combining hands with Israel Railways is natural, but will significantlyreduce the environmental damage." In recent years, Israel Railways has recorded the fastestgrowth in transport rates in the country, and from year to year itcontinues to strengthen its position as Israel's leading transportinfrastructure. The approximate 128,000 passengers who have been usingthe trains each day since the beginning of the year is expected tototal 35.8 million passengers by the end of December. Established in October 2007 and co-owned by Shai Agassi andHahevrah L'Yisrael, Better Place seeks to provide worldwide electriccar services, fostering the conditions which will make electricvehicles accessible worldwide in order to end the global dependence onoil. The company is working to establish a global networkinfrastructure that uses electrical charging renewable energy.Infrastructure will enable the mass use of electric vehicles, non-toxicair pollution, significantly reducing the dependence on petroleum andits products of countries self-propelling the "green" economy. The company will work with partners to deploy theinfrastructure load in Israel, Denmark, Australia, California, andHawaii, beginning in 2010.
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