In The News

Our experts are frequently spotlighted in national/local news outlets and widely read blogs. The headlines and summaries below link to the original news articles and features.

U.S. DOT Sec. Duffy Cuts Vital Research Grants on Transportation Inequity, Deriding ‘Woke’

May 5, 2025

“In the original announcement, UC Davis Professor Susan Handy pointed out the short-sightedness of Duffy’s cuts: “Finding a way to decarbonize transportation that does not exacerbate existing inequities is one of the most significant societal challenges we face,” she said, adding that the grant would help the center “focus on equity and justice and launch new initiatives on rural mobility, vehicle electrification, and sustainable freight.”

Streetsblog USA

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Trump administration terminates $12M in grant funding for UC Davis research on sustainable transportation

May 3, 2025

President Donald Trump’s secretary of transportation on Friday said he’d terminated $12 million in grant funding for UC Davis’ National Center for Sustainable Transportation aimed at “accelerating equitable decarbonization” research.

KCRA

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EV drivers don’t pay the gas taxes that cover road maintenance. Republicans in Congress want them to pay an annual fee instead.

May 3, 2025

“If you use the road system more, you should pay more,” said Gil Tal, a professor at the University of California, Davis.

Marketplace

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As Tesla tanks in San Francisco, a new EV gains trust

April 29, 2025

“They’re scaling — and scaling effectively and responsibly,” said Mollie D’Agostino, a mobility policy specialist at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis. “They’re known in the industry for moving judiciously.”

E&E News by Politico

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Record high animals dying on Los Angeles road

April 23, 2025

An analysis by the UC Davis Road Ecology Center shows roadkill incidents involving mule deer and coyotes are down, but not because conditions have improved. It’s a reflection of decreasing wildlife populations, according to Fraser Shilling, director of the Center.

CNN Regional

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Sacramento area has about 2,500 EV chargers. Here’s where to find them

April 14, 2025

Dahlia Garas, manager of the UC Davis Electric Vehicle Research Center, tests the reliability of an electric vehicle station operated by Electrify America, in downtown Sacramento on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.

Sacramento Bee

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China Starts Harnessing the Power of Its Massive EV Fleet

April 14, 2025

“There’s a big economic opportunity there,” says Alan Jenn, an electric-car expert at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis.

Bloomberg.com

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Another victim of Trump’s tariffs: California’s electric vehicle ambitions

April 11, 2025

“I think that we will buy less new cars altogether, which is not good for the economy and the environment,” said Gil Tal, director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis. “Because new cars — electric and gas — are usually more efficient and clean.”

Los Angeles Times

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Insurers’ flight is over. Now for the fight.

April 9, 2025

Dan Sperling, a former California Air Resources Board member and director of the University of California, Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies, said the study doesn’t take into account other policies like the state’s low-carbon fuel standard, which requires fuel suppliers to produce lower carbon alternatives such as biofuels.

POLITICO

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Tariff terror comes for EVs

April 8, 2025

Dan Sperling, director of the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Davis and a former member of the California Air Resources Board, whose EV targets Congress is currently mulling whether to revoke, said the layers of cost and regulatory uncertainty will unquestionably slow down automakers’ EV plans.

POLITICO

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