Abstract

This report presents the results of the Natural Gas Vehicle Incentive Program administered by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Irvine under agreement number 600-14-006 with the California Energy Commission. Program development and administration is described, including discussion of outreach efforts and engagement with stakeholders to improve program operations. Performance statistics for the Natural Gas Vehicle Incentive Program are presented describing the characteristics of the 916 vehicles incentivized under the project, and the 87 distinct entities that received incentive funding. Recommendations are offered for future vehicle incentive programs to resolve some of the problems that arose during the administration of the program that were mostly due to structural characteristics of the voucher process itself. The report also details the findings of two major research efforts conducted under the agreement. The first research thrust targeted developing a better understanding of alternative fuel demand from the perspective of fleet operations. This included both fleet purchase behavior as it relates to alternative fuel heavy duty vehicles and also a detailed study of how heavy-duty vehicle operating cycles impact their emissions and suitability for alternative fuel deployments. The second research thrust addressed the implications of scaling specific features of the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan to statewide operations. Using results from the California Statewide Freight Forecasting Model, a case study on optimizing the deployment of overhead catenary electric highway infrastructure around the state in terms of either maximizing vehicle miles traveled coverage or maximizing the accrued benefits to disadvantaged communities.