Equity Assessment of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Purchase Incentives

The development and deployment of Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) helps reducing energy use, achieve greater energy security, decrease emissions, and provide operating cost stability. To help consumers overcome the higher initial purchase costs of PEVs, and to help promote PEV adoption, government agencies and electric utilities have offered incentives of various design. While the PEV population has grown rapidly since 2011, the PEV market share and the demographics of PEV users varies significantly within and across regions. This proposed research examines the distribution of benefits associated with consumption of PEV incentives across demographic and geographic groups in the Metro Atlanta area. The beneficiaries of the PEV incentives will be identified and benefits will be quantified using models, monitored data, and new surveys. The accessibility of incentives across demographic groups will also be evaluated to identify any barriers to incentives participation across household income and other demographic group(s), including the eligibility and credit amount. For example, income tax credits for PEV purchases or leases implemented in Georgia prior to 2015 were not accessible to many low-income household groups because credits could only be applied to taxes owed. A comparative analysis of sociodemographic characteristics of PEV users vs. non-PEV users will be conducted by geographic region, household size and structure, household vehicle ownership, etc. The differential impacts of energy saving and emission reductions associated with replacing conventional vehicles with PEVs will also be quantified across these groups to highlight the distribution of these supplemental benefits. The study findings are expected to help decision-makers identify any potential distributive justice issues concealed within existing incentive policies. The research team will then identify potential PEV purchase incentives that could be implemented that might provide additional energy saving and emissions reductions designed to enhance the distributional benefits to minority, low-income, disability, and other potentially underserved communities that may not have benefitted from traditional incentive programs.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $62367
• Contract Numbers:

  CTEDD 019-21

  69A3551747134

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)

  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019

  University of Texas at Arlington

  Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019-0308
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)

  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019

  University of Texas at Arlington

  Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019-0308
• Project Managers:

  Dunn, Denise

• Performing Organizations:

  Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

  School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  790 Atlantic Drive
  Atlanta, GA  United States  30332-0355
• Principal Investigators:

  Liu, Haobing

  Guensler, Randall

  Rodgers, Michael

• Start Date: 20190615
• Expected Completion Date: 20200614
• Actual Completion Date: 20200614
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobile ownership; Demographics; Electric vehicles; Energy conservation; Equity; Incentives; Pollutants; Surveys
• Geographic Terms: Atlanta (Georgia)
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01751597
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)
• Contract Numbers: CTEDD 019-21, 69A3551747134
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 10 2020 10:42AM