Gil Tal comments on the next wave of EV buyers and how new innovations in battery life and charging stations can help convince more people to go electric.
“For a long time, transportation policy’s goal was to get people to travel more, haul goods, go drive those interstates,” says Amy Lee, researcher at the University of California, Davis…“We’re trying to think differently in an age of climate change, but it’s a hard ship to turn around.”
“It’s safe to say that persistently high gasoline prices will have a bigger effect on EV demand than fleeting increases would,” University of California-Davis economist David Rapson tells Axios.
Transportation policies and investments have played a significant role in creating and perpetuating the deep racial inequities that exist in America today. Due in part to historic exclusion from decision-making processes, we have created a transportation system that has limited access by people of color and other marginalized groups to work, education, health, and other opportunities. Our highways have benefitted suburban and mostly white commuters while destroying and isolating many urban Black and brown communities. Transit investments too often have prioritized rail access for higher-income communities over bus and rail access for lower-income communities. Freight facilities and traffic have been concentrated in disadvantaged communities, disrupting those communities and worsening air quality and pedestrian safety.
ITS-Davis acknowledges that racism has influenced academic research, instruction and training, and the makeup of our research community. We recognize that our research has helped to shape America’s transportation system and its inequities. ITS-Davis takes seriously its responsibility to address this racism and is committed to research and higher education that is diverse, equitable, inclusive and that furthers justice.
Acknowledging this history, ITS-Davis and the Policy Institute are taking action to create a more accessible and equitable transportation future—one that serves all people–and to instill the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into the core values of our organizations, in our research, education, and outreach programs, and our workplace.
Visit our Diversity Equity, and Inclusion page for more information on our ongoing efforts.
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