Welcome New NCST Consortium Member! | |
|
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that the National Center for Sustainable Transportation would receive $20 million through the University Transportation Centers Program to lead a group of seven universities studying transportation effects on the environment. The award reinforces UC Davis’ standing as the nation’s leading university center on sustainable transportation.
The new grant also enables the NCST to expand its consortium—we are delighted to welcome Texas Southern University (TSU) and its expertise in sustainable transportation and transportation equity to our partnership. TSU brings expertise in traffic operations and their implications for GHG emissions and air quality, in addition to expertise in transportation planning and management and issues of transportation equity. The TSU research team has developed a strong program in real-world emission measurement and modeling that expands fundamental engineering knowledge and stimulates applications of new technologies and strategies. TSU’s transportation program delivers high-quality education and training programs to engineers, planners, managers and others. TSU is a leader in the effort to increase diversity in the transportation field through programs at all levels of education, such as the National Summer Transportation Institute program and the Summer Maritime Academy, both primarily targeting underrepresented high school and middle school students. Welcome TSU!
| |
Introducing NCST's
New Policy Director
| |
|
We are excited to introduce a new full-time Policy Director for the National Center for Sustainable Transportation: Sara Schremmer!
Sara comes to us from the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy, with three years experience as the Director of Operations and Engagement, including helping to strengthen the partnership between the Policy Institute, ITS-Davis, and the NCST, and improve outreach and engagement efforts for the programs. Prior to joining the Policy Institute, Sara served as the Deputy Director for the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts, where she led legislative engagement and capacity building efforts on behalf of the state’s 95 Resource Conservation Districts. She brings extensive experience collaborating with partners, policymakers, and stakeholders to achieve shared goals on environmental sustainability. Sara’s policy experience extends back to 2009 when she served as the National Campaigns Coordinator for the climate advocacy organization 350.org, helping to translate international climate policy objectives into local civic engagement campaigns throughout the country.
In her role as Policy Director, Sara will help to link NCST research and researchers to policymakers and practitioners, working to further our impact on sustainable transportation research, policy, and practice. As NCST continues to grow, Sara will serve as an instrumental player in ensuring that our research is timely, relevant, and valuable to policymaker and practitioner audiences and stakeholders.
| |
|
Insights from the New End-of-Life EV Battery Policy Simulator
Dr. Alissa Kendall | Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis
September 14, 10-11 a.m. PST | Online Webinar
| |
The rapid growth of electric vehicles (EVs) powered by lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is a key mechanism for achieving environmental targets for greenhouse gas and air pollution mitigation in the transport sector. Yet, the potential impacts of producing and disposing of these batteries and the risks of resource constraints affecting the availability of materials required for their production has started to focus attention on the need for advancing policy, infrastructure, and technology required for robust and environmentally preferable LIB end-of-life management.
Given the weak economics and an uncertain future regulatory environment for LIB reuse and recycling, swift policy intervention is required for sustainable and safe end-of-life treatment of LIBs. In this webinar, Dr. Alissa Kendall, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis, will share insights from the new End of Life EV Battery Policy Simulator. Dr. Kendall’s research integrates economic, environmental, and social factors in a mixed methods approach in effort to help shape robust policies for LIB end-of-life management.
| |
|
Assessing the Mobility Needs of Rural and Underserved Communities in California
Dr. Caroline Rodier | Professional Researcher at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies
Dr. Jesus Barajas | Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, Davis
| |
Households in small and rural communities are often automobile dependent, and those with low incomes or who do not own a car have limited transportation options for accessing basic services that improve lives and livelihoods, including jobs, health care, healthy food, and more. In this webinar, NCST researchers share updates from a three-year experiment in EV carsharing serving marginalized rural communities in California’s Central Valley, along with findings from a recently concluded student assessing transportation barriers and adaptations in carless households. | |
Featured Project
A Before and After Evaluation of Shared Mobility Projects in the San Joaquin Valley
In rural areas, cost-effective transit service is difficult due to greater distances and lower population densities than in cities: transit agencies struggle to meet farebox recovery ratios, per-trip costs are high, and public transit is slow and infrequent. In the spring of 2018, funds were allocated toward pilot projects for affordable transportation in the San Joaquin Valley. These projects included electric vehicle carsharing, volunteer ride-hailing, and mobility-as-a-service. This project evaluated these pilot projects through surveys and service use data.
| | |
Featured Project
Mobility Justice in Rural California: Examining Transportation Barriers and Adaptations in Carless Households
Differences between trips by rural and urban households reveals a higher degree of disadvantage for rural households without easy vehicle access. In addition, rural areas may be left behind by a clean vehicle transition due to the inability to procure electric vehicles. This project investigated how rural carless households meet their transportation needs, and what policy solutions might improve their access and mobility.
| | |
|
Meet the NCST 2023 Undergraduate Summer Research Fellows!
Congratulations to the thirteen UC Davis students who received NCST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships! Our fellowship program provides undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with UC Davis faculty, professional researchers, and graduate students on sustainable transportation research projects.
| |
|
Congratulations to our NCST Dissertation Awardees!
Congratulations to our spring and summer dissertation grant awardees! Our UC Davis and Georgia Tech awardees are conducting research on sustainable and equitable concrete production, electric vehicle charging and adoption, sustainable truck freight, and creating more resilient and sustainable rail infrastructure.
| |
Dr. Sabbie Miller's (UC Davis) new project, Utilizing Concrete at its End-of-Life for Direct Air Capture, will explore the use of concrete to facilitate carbonation and its application to Direct Air Capture. This will support preliminary experimentation and modeling of carbon dioxide uptake regarding Direct Air Capture. | |
In their new project, The Role of Level of Service in Post-SB 743 California, UC Davis’ Drs. Elisa Barbour, Jamey Volker, and Susan Handy will investigate SB 743’s consequences, as well as analyze cities’ continuing use of both level-of-service (LOS) and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). The team will then determine how Californian cities are integrating LOS and VMT metrics in development approval and impact fee structures. | |
During the pandemic, how much higher was e-scooter usage on Slow Streets compared to similar (but not Slow) streets in four major cities? | |
In the short term, ___ is the most common frequency of replacing car trips with e-bikes in a recent survey. | |
Recently Completed Research | |
|
Centrally Coordinated Schedules and Routes of Airport Shuttles with LAX Terminals as Application Area
Petros Ioannou and Pengfei Chen| University of Southern California
| |
|
Across the U.S., minimal curbside pick-up and drop-off space near airports causes traffic congestion leading to longer wait times and more vehicle emissions. The researchers investigated the missing coordination between shuttle companies and airports by creating the CENtrally COordinated Shuttle System (CENCOS) — a simulator that captures traffic flow and formulates optimal shuttle routes and schedules. Airport systems and shuttle companies can implement this research on coordination to efficiently navigate time, costs, and fuel consumption.
| |
|
SB 743 Implementation by Local Governments for Land Use Projects
Jamey Volker, Reyhane Hosseinzade, and Susan Handy | University of California, Davis
| |
|
Following the shift from level-of-service (LOS) to vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a transportation metric in California Senate Bill 743, analysts face challenges associated with adjusting to this change. Researchers from UC Davis explored how local governments implement this shift and monitor VMT impacts in land development projects. The researchers conclude state or regional monitoring can address the impacts of this shift to VMT.
| |
|
Lane-Level Localization and Map Matching for Advanced Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) Applications
Jay A. Farrell, Guoyuan Wu, Wang Hu, and David Oswald | University of California, Riverside
| |
|
The rise of Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technology could solve challenges associated with socio-economic transportation issues, energy consumption, and vehicle pollutants. As many CAVs use precise determination, researchers from UC Riverside analyzed, experimented, and performed simulation evaluations to test CAV lane-level accuracy and queue prediction. The researchers conclude additional methods involving queue length prediction are necessary to effectively utilize available information on CAVs.
| |
|
Hybrid EV and Pure BEV Owners: A Comparative Analysis of Household Demographics, Travel Behavior, and Energy Use
Ziyi Dai, Michael O. Rodgers, and Randall Guensler | Georgia Institute of Technology
| |
|
Several types of electric vehicles, including hybrid EVs (HEVs), plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs), and battery EVs (BEVs), are adopted by various households. Exploring the socio-economic backgrounds, travel habits, and energy usage of households owning EVs, researchers examined the way preferences influence purchasing behavior between HEVs and pure-EVs. The researchers discovered household size, vehicle quantity, and employment largely contribute to purchasing behavior for different types of EVs.
| |
|
Developing a Vehicle Cost Calculator to Promote Electric Vehicle Adoption Among TNC Drivers
Angela Sanguinetti, Kate Hirschfelt, Debapriya Chakraborty, Matthew Favetti, Nathaniel Kong, Eli Alston-Stepnitz, and Howard Ma | University of California, Davis
| |
As transportation network company (TNC) drivers (i.e. Uber, Lyft) frequently use their vehicles, there is a need to evaluate the potential switch to electric vehicles. The researchers created an online vehicle cost calculator, EV Explorer 2.0, to estimate the total cost of ownership factored into this switch while considering the needs of TNC drivers. This tool can inform gig drivers and companies of the social, financial, and environmental benefits of switching to electric vehicles.
| |
|
Evaluating the Effectiveness of "Smart Pedal" Systems for Vehicle Fleets
George Scora, Matthew Barth, Alexander Vu, and David Oswald | University of California, Riverside
| |
|
One major challenge associated with vehicle development is improving fuel economy and reducing GHG emissions. UC Riverside researchers investigated the potential effectiveness of “Smart Pedal” systems, or technology that can be installed in vehicles with the potential to reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions by smoothing a driver’s acceleration patterns, with little effect on travel time or safety. An average fuel economy increase of up to 6.29% was observed for a vehicle with the "Smart Pedal" technology installed.
| |
|
"Electric vehicle sales are strong, but EV startups are struggling"
With prominent electric vehicle startups like Lordstown Motors and Rivian losing investors and dropping in share price, the future of startups in the EV sector seems tenuous. Experts point out key disadvantages for startups in this field, including high up-front costs and interest rates, and difficulty in procuring parts. They also have to compete with entrenched legacy carmakers like Ford, Toyota, Nissan, and GM. These companies have the luxury of using their non-EV auto sales to fund their EV production, which startups cannot do.
In addition, EV startups also have to compete with other EV-only companies, with Tesla dominating the market. However, NCST researcher and director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center Gil Tal maintains there is still hope for EV startups. Startups can turn things around just like Tesla has, especially with new government mandates.
“We have to remember that even Tesla about a decade ago was kind of on the edge of collapsing,” Tal said. “You have a secure, growing market for the next 20 years, and that’s the main reason why EV startups have some chance.”
| |
The National Center for Sustainable Transportation is a consortium of leading universities committed to advancing an environmentally sustainable transportation system through cutting-edge research, direct policy engagement, and education of our future leaders. Consortium members: University of California, Davis; California State University, Long Beach; Georgia Institute of Technology; Texas Southern University; the University of California, Riverside; the University of Southern California; and the University of Vermont. | | | | |
