The Southern California Plug-in Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan was developed in order to identify key issues with the current infrastructure in place for electric vehicles. Recognizing the public benefits that come from electrifying the predominant mode of transportation, the Plan identifies strategies for increasing the number of electric vehicle miles traveled throughout the Southern California Region.
Using electric vehicle registration data and integrating it with the Southern California Association of Governments transportation model, the Plan provides a basis for analyzing electric vehicle owner behavior. An understanding of electric vehicle owner behavior allowed for the study to identify popular destinations and how they relate to the current charging infrastructure (as of Summer 2012), and how the region may improve municipal readiness.
The plan provides an overview of the electric vehicle ecosystem, examining best practices currently implemented in the region, and provides recommendations for how the public and private sectors can play an influential role in expanding the current electric vehicle charging network. Findings suggest that public entities looking to encourage electric vehicle use focus on developing charging opportunities at employment centers, multi-family structures, and fast charging at retail destinations. Furthermore, the report provides policy guidelines to streamline charging station permitting, installation, and inspection. Understanding the municipalities are very limited in staff resources due the recent recession, the report also outlines a “ladder” of engagement that municipalities may utilize to plan for increasing levels of outreach to the public and stakeholder groups.
