Objective: To understand the potential impacts of the Clean Miles Standard (CMS) regulations on ride-hailing drivers in California
Collaborator(s): The California Air Resources Board (CARB)
Project period: 2023-2025

As the lead postdoctoral researcher on this project, I led and contributed to the design of an online survey, the analysis of survey responses, and the preparation of presentations, journal articles, and technical reports.

The goals of the project were to investigate the attitudes of drivers towards the use of electric vehicles for ride-hailing work, examine the current uptake of electric vehicles among California ride-hailing drivers, and to understand the factors influence vehicle fuel type choices among ride-hailing drivers.

The findings suggest that, while the uptake of electric vehicles is higher among ride-hailing drivers compared to the population of California, less than one in six vehicles is electric. Additionally, the results suggest that the impacts of the perceived availability of public and home chargers differ based on whether a driver obtained their vehicle with or without the intention of using it for ride-hailing work. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that ride-hailing drivers tend to exhibit relatively low levels of familiarity with federal and state incentives related to zero-emission vehicles.

The results of this project will support the efforts of CARB and the California Public Utilities Commission to mitigate the burdens imposed by the CMS regulations on ride-hailing drivers and develop policies that aim to encourage ride-hailing drivers to switch from gasoline to electric vehicles.