Date
Monday, November 13, 2023
Time
5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
Name
Advancing Equity in Electric Vehicle and Charging Access for Low to Moderate Income Ridehail Drivers
Session ID
Poster Presentations
Track
Equity & Empowerment
Mengying Ju
Description

Transportation is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (almost 50%) in California. Vehicle electrification is one of the ways of reducing GHG emissions and petroleum dependency. The State has set aggressive targets for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and associated infrastructure, including 250,000 charging stations by 2025 and full ZEV auto and passenger truck sales by 2035. California’s SB 1014 (also known as the Clean Miles Standard) further promotes ZEVs (including electric vehicles, or EVs) among transportation network companies (TNCs, or ridehailing companies). SB 1014 faces implementation barriers including: vehicle costs, charging infrastructure access, social equity, and range concerns, particularly as many TNC drivers represent underserved populations with limited EV and EV charging access. This project aims to understand the equity barriers to EV access among TNC drivers, as well as business/policy opportunities to lower SB 1014 implementation barriers. We conduct TNC driver focus groups (n=2) and multilingual surveys (n=500) with TNC drivers operating in various land-use contexts. Expert interviews (n=~10) with stakeholders (e.g., public agencies, TNCs, charging companies, etc.) and driver interviews (n=10 to 15) with TNC drivers are conducted for a deeper understanding of obstacles/policy opportunities. Finally, we evaluate existing EV incentive programs and access to EV charging infrastructure by analyzing trip and charging activity data collected from TNC drivers.

Supporting Document 1