Back in Fall 2019, in collaboration with researchers at Ohio State University, we conducted a survey of Uber and Lyft drivers in Los Angeles, which was aimed at understanding their perceptions of the benefits and limitations of electric vehicles (EV) for their work as a ride-hailing driver. A separate post will follow on that. The report of that work (which I regret not having yet submitted for peer-review, the principal currency for recognition by my peers) seems to have had its intended impact which was to help inform public policy first and foremost. It was cited by the California Air Resources Board multiple times in the Initial Statement of Reasons for the California Clean Miles Standard and the survey was the reason I was invited to comment on California's mandate. What particularly excited me about this particular project was that almost all the research on EV users was on those who use it for private use and tend to be wealthier (not surprisingly) where as I strongly feel that EVs can deliver both greater private benefits and social benefits when adopted by poorer drivers who drive a lot for a living and who would both save more money and help avoid more pollution. Traditionally, the coolest technologies were first adopted by the rich and then it became a mass product, for which there are good reasons but I feel we dont need to make the poorer households wait in this case. The basic point is this mandate should not cause much trouble for the regulated parties for they have voluntarily committed to full electrification by 2030 already, this regulation just makes that a hard requirement to which they will be held.
Here is the LINK to the full interview, the topic.
