Toward a More Equitable Transportation Future?

Two years running, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has spoken at SXSW on the future of transportation, and two years running he has focused on equity. In 2021, in a keynote titled “Pete Buttigieg on Equitable and Empathetic Transportation,” the Secretary touched on historic inequities in infrastructure development (e.g., the building of highways through “the path of least resistance” in black and brown neighborhoods) and the need to address so-called “transit deserts” to literally connect more people with opportunity. He revisited these themes in his 2022 remarks, naming equity as one of five core issues on which the DOT is focused (along with safety, economic development, climate, and transformation), and emphasizing “[i]t is so, so important, with this much money going into our transportation system, that we deploy it in ways that are going to benefit everybody.”

At first blush, transportation may not seem like a topic that would implicate equity. But especially as technology increasingly promises to transform transportation as we know it, increasing attention has been paid to equitable innovation and policymaking in the sector. Today we highlight a few ways in which equity has entered the discussions around electrification and automation specifically.

Electrification. The news that several states including California and New York will ban sales of new gas-powered vehicles as of 2035 was greeted by many as a positive step toward carbon neutrality and environmental justice. In some respects, then, these laws can be viewed as an equity “win.” Yet stakeholders and policymakers alike have raised concerns that the laws may ignore the average American consumer and small businesses—i.e., with most EVs still being marketed in the “luxury” class, if the laws went into effect today, many Americans would be unable to comply and would be locked into driving older, inefficient ICE vehicles. As noted in a recent Fortune article, “[a]ccording to the U.S. Census, median household income was $70,784 in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available. The average price for an electric vehicle in July of 2022, was over $66,000, according to Kelley Blue Book (KBB).” It is not surprising, then, that a 2019 study found significant disparities in EV purchases between high and lower-income populations: “counting both new and used vehicle purchases, households earning less than $100,000 per year represent 72% of gasoline vehicle purchases, but only 44% of electric vehicle purchases. Black and Latino car buyers make 41% of gasoline vehicle purchases, but only 12% of EV purchases.”

The country’s inadequate charging infrastructure also disproportionately disadvantages lower income communities who do not have easy access to charging stations or in-home chargers. Fortune also reports that “83% of vehicle owners who make under $50,000 per year don’t have dedicated access to EV charging at home,” and describes apartment-dwelling EV owners stretching extension cords for lengths just to access a power supply.

For these reasons, groups like the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce have been outspoken critics of laws mandating EV sales, saying “small businesses and their employees cannot absorb these economic losses. …  The regulations are simply too much, too fast, for minority-owned businesses.”

Automation. Automated and autonomous vehicle technologies have the potential to dramatically expand transportation access to historically underserved communities, advancing Secretary Buttigieg’s goal of connecting more people to opportunity. For example, as outlined in this study, AVs could be used to “reduce the increased risk of mortality associated with isolation for seniors,” or provide solutions for those “transit deserts” that public transportation does not reach. AVs are being explored as a way to provide transportation to disabled populations, including by industry leaders like Waymo, which has launched the “Waymo Accessibility Network” with the goal of “ensuring [its] transformational rollout of autonomous technology is inclusive and equitable.” AVs also may reduce traffic deaths and air pollution, issues that disproportionately impact lower income communities (see here and here).

But as with EVs, concerns abound that the populations that may benefit most from the technology will be largely ignored in deployment and policymaking. The Urban Institute, for example, has warned that thoughtful policy is just as important as it relates to automation: “we … believe that today’s regulatory environment is so underdeveloped that uncertainty may be slowing progress. And failing to intervene now—when AV deployment remains nascent—could reinforce the negative outcomes of today’s automobile system.”

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We have just scratched the surface here, and certainly do not claim to have all the answers. But it should be obvious just from the highlights that innovation to reduce the cost of entry, and thoughtful policymaking to encourage equitable deployment and infrastructure development, are imperative to realize the full potential of these technologies for everyone.

Copyright Nelson Niehaus LLC

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This blog post is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.