California Air Resources Board

Principal Investigator/Author: Giovanni Circella, Susan Handy

Contractor: University of California, Davis

Contract number: 19STC006

Project Status: Completed July 2024

Relevant CARB programs: Accessible Clean Transportation Options SB 350, Clean Miles Standard, Sustainable Communities & Climate Protection Program

Topic areas: Zero-Emission Transportation, Sustainable Communities, Climate Change, Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Reduction & Climate Goals

Research Summary:

The key objective of this contract is to inform the California Air Resources Board on the quickly evolving transportation patterns resulting from the deployment and adoption of emerging transportation technologies, and the disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and identify opportunities for reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation.

Specifically, the work included in this contract provided information useful to support policy making in a number of areas, including the implementation of the Clean Miles Standard (CMS) regulation in response to Senate Bill (SB) 1014 and future complementary policies aimed to support CMS, and the identification of the available strategies to support SB 375 goals of reducing VMT and GHG emissions from transportation in California as the state recovers from the impacts of the pandemic and the resulting modifications in individual behaviors and economic activities.

The work done by the project team at the University of California, Davis (UCD) consists of the three objectives below, each of which is contained in its own final report. The project team:

1. analyzed data available from previous projects conducted at UCD and other institutions,
2. conducted original data collection to evaluate the temporary and longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mobility (a) in the population as a whole and (b) focusing on a subset of low-income households, and
3. evaluated the policy space for VMT reductions in the "after COVID-19" world.

This project produces insightful information that will be used by CARB staff to support the development of policies to decarbonize transportation, and promote societal benefits including increased use of public transit and active transportation at a time of deep disruptions caused by the deployment of new transportation technologies and a pandemic that is likely to have changed employment activities, household organization and individual travel choices in the longer term.

Keywords: Vehicle miles traveled, greenhouse gas emissions, transportation sector, new mobility, Covid-19 pandemic, public transportation, SB 350, Clean Miles Standard, greenhouse gas reduction strategies, e-shopping, ridehailing, Transportation Network Companies (TNC), telework, hybrid work, transportation trends, mobility and physical activity, climate change.

Research Seminar