1. PLUg-in Electric Vehicles Readiness: Rating Cities in the United States
***All graphs are from the Annual Energy Review, 2012 unless otherwise cited***
Celeste Wanner, Kyle Clark-Sutton, Saba Siddiki, John Rupp*, Sanya Carley, John Graham
School of Public and environmental Affairs
Indiana University

2. Organization Introduction Research design & analysis Results
Conclusions

3. Introduction
Consumer interest in PEVs is not yet high enough to meet manufacturer production goals or policy goals for EV adoption set by the federal government and ZEV states
This study examines additional municipal, along with their respective state measures that could stimulate consumer interest in EVs
Understand how cities compare across the country

4. Incentives to EV deployment
Goal: Accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV)
Objectives: Offer a suite of benefits to owners and operators of PEVs, including financial incentives and infrastructure perks
How: “hard” and “soft policies supporting PEVs, infrastructure, and operation
Whose policies: Municipalities but, also how they interact with state policies
All influenced the same by federal policies, therefore not considered
Who are the purchasers: include individuals, businesses, and municipal government entities

5. Examples of Incentives
Municipal policies can include:
Special parking privileges, especially in congested areas
City-subsidized charging stations
Streamlined permit procedures for installing a home charging station
State policies can include:
HOV-lane access
State-level tax credits and rebates for purchase of PEVs or charging equipment
Structure of electricity pricing
Other reduced fees, such as vehicle registration or inspection fees

6. Creating an index of “readiness”
Built an index that identifies and ranks the “readiness” of 36 major U.S. cities for integration of PEVs into the transportation sector
Readiness is the degree to which a city supports the adoption of electric vehicles
Municipalities were ranked based on how they scored in the index

7. Challenges to analysis
Policies of cities (and the states in which they are located) are by no means uniform, complicating the development of an index
Interaction of policies (fed, state, muni)
Dynamic terrain: polices are coming and going as well as changing through time
Changing price of petroleum…

8. Background – ZEV program
California enacted a zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) requirement for vehicle manufacturers doing business in the state
Congress has permitted other states to enact a program identical to the CA ZEV program
9 states have adopted the ZEV program:
Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont
8 of these have further signed an MOU to promote ZEVs
2 adopted but then repealed ZEV: Arizona, New Mexico
3 considered but did not adopt: Colorado, Utah and Illinois

9. Research goals
Develop a preliminary scoring methodology for comparing cities’ PEV readiness
Answer the question: Does participation in the ZEV program have a meaningful impact on EV readiness in cities assessed?

10. Research Design
Approach to rating cities was constructed from the perspective of a potential new car buyer considering a PEV
Identified 16 variables related to consumer interest in PEVs
(variables that can vary by city or by state, and therefore cities in different states)
Selected 25 largest cities by population, plus largest cities in ZEV states, as well as 5 other large cities included in other major PEV studies
Cities represent ripe markets for PEV adoption
36 cities in 25 states
The rationale for city selection was to rate cities that have strong potential for growth in EV adoption due to demographics, density, population, etc. This was not an attempt to create a “Top 36 Cities for EV Adoption,” though the scoring methodology, once refined, could be applied to a large number of cities to produce just such a ranking.

11. Location of cities and ZEV states

12. Research Design/Analysis
Two scoring systems
Simple scoring system
Transforms variables into dichotomous variables and weights each equally
Weighted scoring system
Extra weight added to variables recommended as best practices or that have been demonstrated to have significant impact on PEV sales

13. Index Variables: Financial Incentives
Description
Rationale
Hard Incentives
Consumer Purchase Incentives
Whether the city or state offers a tax credit or rebate for consumers to purchase a PEV
Purchase incentives bring down the upfront costs of PEVs to be more competitive with traditional vehicles
Public/Private Purchase Incentives
Whether the city or state offers a tax credit or rebate for businesses or government entities to purchase a PEV
Consumer EVSE incentives
Whether the city or state offers a tax credit or rebate for consumers to purchase and/or install EVSE
Public/Private EVSE Incentives
Whether the city or state offers a tax credit or rebate for businesses or government entities to purchase and/or install EVSE
Time of Use/Special PEV Electricity Pricing
Whether the main utility in the city offers TOU pricing (unrelated to PEV ownership) or a specific PEV charging rate to PEV owners
Low electricity prices for overnight PEV charging decreases costs to consumer
Reduced fees
Whether a PEV is afforded special consideration with regard to registration fees, vehicle tax, or sales and use tax
Decreased costs for PEV driver

14. Non-financial incentives
Soft Incentives
Charging stations per capita
Total number of level 1, level 2, and DC fast chargers in the city (as of February 2015) per capita
Access to more chargers reduces range anxiety
HOV lane access
Whether the state affords special HOV access to PEV owners
HOV lane access reduces commuting time for PEV drivers in cities with high congestion problems
EVSE Permitting
Whether the city has streamlined the permitting process for installing EV Supply Equipment
Speeding up the process to have the proper wiring and charger installed in a consumer's home or business
Parking Privileges
Whether the city offers free, reduced cost, or reserved parking for PEV owners
Free or dedicated parking can save PEV drivers time and money

15. Additional Index Variables
Fuel Cost Environment
Gas Price
April 2015 prices
Higher gas prices may make EVs more attractive to consumers
Electricity Price
2013 electricity price for the main utility in the city
Lower electricity prices may make EVs more attractive to consumers
Special Fleet Programs
Municipal Fleet
Whether the local government has made efforts to integrate PEVs into municipal fleets ("Lead by example")
Cities that are leading by example help demonstrate the benefits of EVs to citizens
EV Car Sharing Service
Whether an electric vehicle car sharing service is offered in the city
EV car sharing offers more opportunities for residents to experience PEVs, and it is indicative of the general attitude towards PEVs
Additional Indicators
Clean Cities Coalition
Whether a Clean Cities Coalition exists in the city
Clean Cities coalitions assist in the promotion of PEVs in their communities
Tesla Direct Sale
Whether Tesla is allowed to sell directly to consumers in the state.
This is considered an indicator of the general attitude towards PEVs in the state

16. Results
Simple and weighted scoring results were similar, with little movement in the rankings
Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test –
No statistically significant difference between two scoring approaches.
Spearman’s ρ (rho) =
p-value = .0000

17. Significance (p-value)
Results
A t-test (comparison test) was applied under both scoring conditions to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between scores for cities in ZEV states vs. non-ZEV states.
No statistically significant difference between ZEV and non-ZEV
Simple Scoring
Weighted Scoring
ZEV Mean
8.69 ± 0.98
12.46 ± 1.65
Non-ZEV Mean
7.17 ± 0.54
10.26 ±1.02
t =
-1.47
-1.20
Significance (p-value)
0.15
0.24

18. How they ranked:

19. Simple Score by Category
= ZEV states

22. Conclusions
Cities, and their states, differ considerably in how ready they are for PEVs
Location of a city in a ZEV state is a weak indication of municipal readiness for PEV adoption

23. Conclusions cont.
Not all ZEV states are implementing the policies that are needed to spur PEV adoption.
Recently, some states have enacted higher fees on the registration of PEVs, on the stated rationale that EVs do not pay fuel taxes to support road construction and repair.
Others are adding (Connecticut) or removing (Georgia) monetary incentives.
ZEV states opting in or out
Proactive policies are especially important in the current climate of lower oil prices
Lack of proactive policies will make achieving EV adoption goals, ZEV mandates, and climate change mitigation goals much more difficult…in both states and cities
The main reason to make this point is that the study was done on shifting ground; in 6 months the index may tell a different story.

24. Conclusions cont.
High level of interactivity required between state and municipal policies
For municipal policies to be both effective and efficient, they need to be coordinated with state-level policies
States influence city-level policy through:
Funding support for local PEV-supportive policies
Encouraging and coordinating polices
Assisting in implementation
Municipal policies need to be coordinated with the policies of electric utilities and the commercial structures that service residents of the city and surrounding communities

25. Questions?

26. Additional Resources
International Council on Clean Transportation. “Assessment of leading electric vehicle promotion activities in United States cities.” Available at activities.
Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC). 2015a. Electric vehicle charging station locations. U.S. Department of Energy.
Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC). 2015b. Federal and state laws and incentives. U.S. Department of Energy.
Benecchi, A., Mattila, M., and Syed, S. N PEV Readiness Study: Electric Vehicles in America. Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and Rocky Mountain Institute.
Carley, S., R. Krause, B. Lane, J. Graham “Intent to purchase a plug-in electric vehicle: A survey of early impressions in large US cites.” Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 18.
EIA Table 6: 2013 Utility Bundled Retail Sales – Residential. Electric Sales, Revenue, and Price.
Egbue, O., & Long, S “Barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles: an analysis of consumer attitudes and perceptions.” Energy Policy, 48,
GasBuddy USA and Canada Current Average Gas Prices by City/State/Province.
Lutsey, N., Searle, S., Chambliss, S., and Bandivadekar, A Assessment of Leading Electric Vehicle Promotion Activities in United States Cities. International Council on Clean Transportation.

27. Scoring Methodology

28. Scoring Methodology cont.

29. Scoring Methodology cont.

30. Simple Score - Detail

31. Weighted Score - Detail

32. weighting

33. Weighted score by category
= ZEV states