Beginning in early December, select Georgetown faculty members will pull onto campus in a new, high-tech ride—the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHV).

Two of the plug-in hybrids will be loaned to the University as part of a global study conducted by Toyota and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program, according to a Toyota press release.

“By taking steps toward accommodating electric vehicle use, Georgetown continues to advance our sustainability goals, including the reduction of our carbon footprint,” Karen Frank, vice president for university facilities and student housing, said in the release.

Georgetown employees will have the opportunity to drive the cars in three-month shifts before passing them on to other faculty members. There’s a catch, however; each PHV takes between 90 minutes and three hours to fully recharge, meaning that test drivers will have to charge the cars at special parking spots underneath the Hariri building. (The Hariri building is LEED certified, so it is fitting that it will be housing these reduced-footprint cars.)

The Prius PHV is able to operates solely on electricity for 13 miles at normal traffic speeds, then reverts to a hybrid electricity and gasoline-fuel model.

Data from Toyota’s national demonstration will be posted beginning in early 2011. The data will be used to aid in the development of the next generation of Toyota vehicles available for sale in 2012.

Photo: Sustainability at Georgetown University

Over the weekend, the Washington Post highlighted one of the eternal scourges of attending college in the District: the exorbitant cost of parking.  According to a recent survey from AAA, the Post reports, D.C. college students pay between $225 and $1300 a year to park.

Of all the local universities profiled, though, it looks like Georgetown drivers are the most fleeced.  Georgetown’s Director of Media Relations Andy Pino tells the Post that students living on-campus aren’t eligible for on-campus parking, and the AAA survey finds that Georgetown students pay $656 a semester to park at lots in Rosslyn.

The next most expensive school for auto owners is at GW, where students pay $550 per semester for a parking decal.  American takes third place in the most ridiculous parking prices competition, charging $964 per year to park in a lot on Nebraska Ave., the AAA study shows.

DCist caught wind of the story and, instead of just letting us wallow in our vehicular-induced bankruptcy, they decided to cheer on the shakedown, justifying it with this jibe:

If anything, it seems that students — who, I’m sure we can all agree, don’t really do anything with those cars but cause trouble — aren’t paying enough to park their jalopies in the District.

This evening saw hurricane-like thunderstorms. In Burleith, the heavy rains and wind felled quite a few large trees, crushing some unfortunately parked cars. At one accident site (near the intersection of 37th and T Streets), the owner of a green SUV was in his car when a tree fell on it, but he was not injured.

Photos by Molly Redden

Update (10:50 p.m.) The following message was just posted on the Burleith listserv:

There are a number of trees down in Burleith.  ANC Commission, Ed Solomon has called them in  and hopefully we will have DC services here this weekend. Fortunately no one was hurt as the trees fell on a few cars.

The downed trees are located as follows:

• T St btwn 37th and 38th
• T St btwn 37th and 36th
• R St btwn 37th and 36th
• S St btwn 38th and 39th