M OUN KY T C A I insightO briefN Racing to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Adoption 1 R Racing to Accelerate Electric Vehicle Adoption: I N E STIT U T Decarbonizing Transportation with Ridehailing insight brief January 2021 Authors HIGHLIGHTS Ross McLane Rocky Mountain Institute The race is on to deploy well over 50 million battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) EJ Klock-McCook in the United States by 2030. This—in addition to reducing vehicle miles traveled, strategically Rocky Mountain Institute redesigning urban areas, and improving public transit and nonmotorized transport—is Shenshen Li necessary if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. To achieve this scale of ambition, Rocky Mountain Institute every opportunity for acceleration must be exploited. John Schroeder Rocky Mountain Institute Why then do we turn our attention to transportation network company (TNC) vehicles, which represent a very small portion of total miles in the United States? We believe they offer key Contributors catalytic opportunities: Alex Keros A full-time TNC driver travels approximately three times as many miles per year as the average General Motors EV/AV Program • American and therefore has a lot to gain from lower battery EV operating costs. RMI Data Science Team Rocky Mountain Institute • Concentrated fleets of electric TNC vehicles can serve as critical anchor tenants for much-needed high-speed public charging, helping to enable broader deployment in more diverse parts of cities. Contacts • Each vehicle serves many passengers, which, if electric, provides a valuable public education Ross McLane and awareness opportunity.
[email protected] EJ Klock-McCook Rocky Mountain Institute collaborated with General Motors (GM) to better understand the
[email protected] challenges and opportunities of TNC electrification by evaluating a year of actual operational data—of both EVs and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles operating in TNC services.