Travel Behavior

Trends and 2025 Insights on the Rise of Electric Vehicles in the USA

Matteo Muratori
Doug Arent
Morgan Bazilian
John Bistline
Brennan Borlaug
Austin Brown
Pierpaolo Cazzola
Ercan Dede
Chris Gearhart
David Greene
Alan Jenn
Alissa Kendall
Catherine Ledna
Yanghe Liu
Tim Lipman
Sreekant Narumanchi
Ahmad Pesaran
Ramteen Sioshansi
Thomas Timbario
Kevin Walkowicz
Arthur Yip
2025

Plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) are reshaping the transportation energy landscape, providing a practical alternative to petroleum fuels for a growing number of applications. EV sales grew 55× in the past decade (2014–2024) and 6× since 2020, driven by technological progress enabled by policies to reduce transportation emissions as well as industrial plans motivated by strategic value of EVs for global competitiveness, jobs and geopolitics. In 2024, 22% of passenger cars sold globally were EVs and opportunities for EVs beyond on-road applications are growing, including solutions to...

Behavioral Response to Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and Refueling: Results of California Drive Clinics

Elliot Martin
Susan Shaheen
Tim Lipman
Jeffrey Lidicker
2009

Over the last several decades, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have emerged as a zero tailpipe-emission alternative to the battery electric vehicle (EV). To address questions about consumer reaction to FCVs, this report presents the results of a “ride-and-drive” clinic series (N=182) held in 2007 with a Mercedes-Benz A-Class “F-Cell” hydrogen FCV. The clinic evaluated participant reactions to driving and riding in an FCV, as well as vehicle refueling. Pre-and post-clinic surveys assessed consumer response. More than 80% left with a positive overall impression of hydrogen. The majority...

Electric Vehicle Charge Management Strategies to Benefit the California Electricity Grid

Tim Lipman
Yuhao Yuan
2025

Recent studies suggest that there could be significant value to electric vehicle (EV) drivers and power companies from incorporating EVs into the state’s electrical power grids, known as Vehicle-Grid Integration (VGI). However, the benefits could be highly variable depending on the location of the utility territory, vehicle type and battery capacity, the relevant timeframe, and whether the connection involves only managed charging or includes bidirectional charging permitting vehicle to grid (V2G) power transfer, and other factors. Various studies conducted to date generally conclude that...

Emerging Technologies for Higher Fuel Economy Automobile Standards

Tim Lipman
2017

Transportation systems contribute significantly to air pollution and ∼15% globally and ∼25% in the United States to emissions climate-changing gases. In the United States, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for motor vehicles were significantly raised in 2012 for the first time in almost three decades. The standards now call for an average across manufacturers of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for new passenger cars by 2025, or 163 grams per mile (g/mi) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and of 47 mpg (196 g/mi) by 2021. The light truck standards, which include minivans and...

Business Model for Subscription Service for Electric Vehicles Including Battery Swapping, for San Francisco Bay Area, California

Jeffrey Lidicker
Tim Lipman
Brett Williams
2011

A proposed strategy for facilitating the introduction of electric-drive vehicles calls for vehicle purchasers to own the vehicle but to lease the battery from a third party to help reduce the first-cost hurdle to consumers. A further extension of this concept for all-battery electric vehicles (EVs) would include the ability for consumers to exchange their discharged batteries for charged ones at battery swap stations. This factor would extend the driving range for EV service subscribers but with increased costs to build and operate the stations. This analysis centers around a base-case...

Lifetime Cost of Battery, Fuel-Cell, and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Mark Delucchi
Tim Lipman
2010
This chapter reviews the estimates of the full social lifetime cost of a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and a fuel-cell hybrid electric vehicle (FCEV), which consists of the initial and periodic costs of owning and operating a vehicle, including some nonmarket costs that are incurred by the society as a whole. When compared with a conventional gasoline internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), advanced BEVs, PHEVs, and FCEVs have higher initial costs, lower fuel costs, lower external costs, possibly higher insurance costs, and possibly lower...

Driving California’s Transportation Emissions to Zero

Austin Brown
Daniel Sperling
Bernadette Austin
J. R. DeShazo
Lew Fulton
Tim Lipman
Colin Murphy
Jean Daniel
Gil Tal
Carolyn Abrams
Debapriya Chakraborty
Daniel Coffee
Sina Dabag
Adam Davis
Mark Delucchi
Kelly Fleming
Kate Forest
Juan Carlos Garcia Sanchez
Susan Handy
Michael Hyland
Alan Jenn
Seth Karten
Blake Lane
Michael Mackinnon
Elliot Martin
Marshall Miller
Monica Ramirez-Ibarra
Stephen Ritchie
Sara Schremmer
Joshua Segui
Susan Shaheen
Andre Tok
Aditya Voleti
Julie Witcover
Allison Yang
2021

The purpose of this report is to provide a research-driven analysis of options that can put California on a pathway to achieve carbon-neutral transportation by 2045. The report comprises thirteen sections. Section 1 provides an overview of the major components of transportation systems and how those components interact. Section 2 discusses the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on transportation. Section 3 discusses California’s current transportation-policy landscape. These three sections were previously published as a synthesis report. Section 4 analyzes the different carbon scenarios...

Evaluation of Fuel Cell Auxiliary Power Units for Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks

Christie-Joy Brodrick
Tim Lipman
Mohammad Farshchi
Nicholas P. Lutsey
Harry A. Dwyer
Daniel Sperling
William Gouse
Bruce Harris
Foy King
2002

A large number of heavy-duty trucks idle a significant amount. Heavy-duty line-haul truck engines idle about 20–40% of the time the engine is running, depending on season and operation. Drivers idle engines to power climate control devices (e.g., heaters and air conditioners) and sleeper compartment accessories (e.g., refrigerators, microwave ovens, and televisions) and to avoid start-up problems in cold weather. Idling increases air pollution and energy use, as well as wear and tear on engines. Efforts to reduce truck idling in the US have been sporadic, in part because it is widely...

Electric Vehicle Charge Management for Lowering Costs and Environmental Impact

Elpiniki Apostolaki-Iosifidou
Marco Pruckner
Soomin Woo
Tim Lipman
2020

As the number of electric vehicles is increasing, there is a pervasive call for research and new strategies in the field of vehicle grid integration. Using electric vehicle real-time data, drivers' spatial behavior and patterns can be derived for their morning and evening commute. These patterns combined with dynamic electricity costs, wholesale and retail, and variable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lead to significant outcomes on savings and environmental impact. In this study, electric vehicle charging management is analyzed for the case of north California, using real world data. The...

Navigating the Gig Economy: Transportation Labor Challenges Facing California’s App-based Ridehailing and Courier Drivers

Susan Shaheen
Wolfe, Brooke
Cohen, Adam
2026

Given the dynamic landscape surrounding the classification of workers in California, it is important to consider how the existing legal and regulatory environment may impact app-based gig drivers, including transportation network companies (TNCs, also known as ridehailing) and courier network services (CNS). Using a multi-method approach, we conducted a literature review (n = 41 sources), expert interviews (n = 8), and case study analysis (n = 7) between October 2022 to May 2024 to better understand how California’s gig drivers are impacted by state legislation and regulation (i.e.,...