Master planning for the future of electric vehicles

An effective decarbonization strategy is often an exercise in enhancing master planning – one in which pathways to reduce emissions are identified and implemented while thinking creatively about meeting community infrastructure needs around mobility and building use. As transportation remains one of the most significant contributors to greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the United States and globally, no decarbonization strategy is complete without considering mobility and electric vehicles (EVs).   

The emergence of federal funding opportunities that prioritize decarbonization and EV adoption, such as The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), has created an unprecedented opportunity for cities to incorporate decarbonization into their master plans. For this to happen effectively, cities should prioritize early coordination with partners, integrate data-driven approaches, ensure approaches account for equity, and leverage available funding mechanisms.

Incorporate decarbonization goals

Master planning has long been used to guide a community’s growth, focusing on ways to ensure that how communities use and benefit from spaces is at the forefront of design and planning. Master planners have often focused on clear goals such as diversity, inclusive design, attracting economic investment, promoting desired change, and enhancing livability. In terms of decarbonization planning, this can mean revisiting how people interact with infrastructure and developing goals accordingly.  

For example, rather than focusing solely on how many vehicles can be transitioned from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric, a plan should consider how to shift patterns of movement to not only reduce emissions but also to change modes of travel and reduce overall vehicle miles traveled. Resulting planning efforts should include goals around convenient journeys, multi-modal transportation options, making spaces more livable, and encouraging alternative modes of transportation such as public transit or cycling.  

Prioritize coordination

Achieving decarbonization goals requires early coordination between different city departments and broader stakeholders. In an example of broad regional collaboration, AECOM worked with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and a core team of broader regional stakeholders, including the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, and the San Diego Association of Governments on their Accelerate 2 Zero (A2Z) Strategy, a regional collaborative aimed at reducing air pollution and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through zero-emission transportation initiatives. The initiative includes a focus on making charging infrastructure accessible for fleets, schools, workplaces, and community members through a region-wide set of strategies that address areas of equity and increasing adoption.

The resulting Strategy demonstrates how collaboration introduces opportunities to support streamlining processes, such as zoning and permitting, often associated with lengthy implementation timeframes.

Utilize data and optimization modeling

Data and optimization should also shape effective decarbonization master planning to support measurable and trackable impact. In the United Kingdom (UK), the siting of charging hubs is driven by a combination of forecast demand on the strategic road network, proximity to power grid connections with capacity, and locations of truck and service rest stops. This requires coordination between National Highways, National Grid, local authorities, and other key stakeholders, further reinforcing the need for collaborative approaches to decarbonization planning.

The AECOM team in the UK has applied this best practice by conducting extensive survey work around truck stops and facilities to improve understanding of drivers’ behavior, resulting in more predictive planning based on expected demand of where vehicles will be and ultimately linking to the power grid network capacity. Moreover, it is crucial in cities and urban areas to identify the optimum locations requiring the least amount of additional charging infrastructure, but which would also be efficient in terms of the vehicles using that infrastructure.

Incorporate equity into investment approaches

Incorporating equity into decarbonization approaches should include opportunities for creating training and learning programs – representing a meaningful opportunity to support local economic development and empower the next-generation workforce with ‘green jobs.’ Estimates have shown that an investment of US$188.4 billion in green infrastructure spread equally over the next five years could generate US$265.6 billion in economic activity and create close to 1.9 million jobs. It is worth noting that the ‘green economy’ has seen its most significant jump in urban centers, providing communities with diverse, career-level employment options, with particular emphasis on the underemployed and unemployed.

To measure the impacts of transportation decarbonization on equity within communities, AECOM is supporting the City of Sacramento’s Department of Public Works, an award recipient of the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Blueprint Grant. The work includes developing key metrics with City departments that track equity impacts and align them with e-mobility pilots that the city is launching. The metrics and corresponding data are included in a digital dashboard to track and measure progress toward goals.

Leverage financial opportunities to support implementation

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), signed into law in November 2021, allocated US$7.5 billion as part of the National EV Infrastructure (NEVI) Program to build a nationwide charging network. The funding has initially focused on installing fast chargers along the interstate highway system, which would help mitigate battery range fears and enable long-distance travel, but also has funding for community-based chargers. The legislation also included large investments to upgrade the nation’s power grid and to expand domestic battery production and recycling capacity.

Cities can apply for and leverage these federal funds to improve charging infrastructure within their communities as part of a comprehensive EV Master Plan. Aside from NEVI, IIJA also expanded other decarbonization programs, such as the Low or No-Emission Grant Program for transit agencies, to accelerate the advancement of zero- or low-emission vehicles and associated facilities. AECOM has supported various agencies in the US to apply for and be awarded these grants.

State government policies also offer incentives, such as rebates, to encourage EV ownership by helping offset the high upfront costs of EVs. Several states have also implemented a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) program, which requires auto manufacturers to sell a set quota of battery-electric or plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles. In the UK, the Government has amended the deadline for phasing out the sale of ICE-only cars and vans to 2035, with only ZEVs on sale from that date onwards. This is being supported by funding for delivering charging points and providing more than £250 million in funding for bus infrastructure via the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme.

There is a considerable focus on funding from the federal government trickling down to the states to local governments, and most of these policies are tied in with supporting disadvantaged communities and other vulnerable populations. Most government agencies prioritize shaping how these funds will be deployed to serve their communities rather than owning or operating fueling stations. These funding sources are created to accelerate private industry participation and deployment.

A brighter future in the making

Through the right master planning lens, decarbonized transportation represents an opportunity for a meaningful transition to healthier communities. Prioritizing transportation decarbonization with equal opportunity for all can act as a catalyst to improve overall master plans, develop clear pathways to decarbonization, and enhance community livability equitably.