Skip to main content
eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (18 results)

  • Multimedia
Policy Briefs (2020)
California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP) is the largest zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) incentive program in the United States. This policy brief summarizes how changes to the CVRP incentive structure may have affected California's ZEV market.
  • 1 supplemental PDF
  • Article
Policy Briefs (2021)
California has goals of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2045 and 100% zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035. Electric vehicles will introduce significant new demand for electricity at the same time the state’s electricity grid is incorporating more intermittent energy sources, raising concerns about grid reliability. However, the flexibility of electric vehicle charging provides a potentially powerful asset in mitigating the challenges of a renewable energybased electricity grid. Smart charging—adapting electric vehicle charging based on the conditions of the power system and the needs of the vehicle user—can take advantage of this flexibility by charging vehicles when renewable energy is readily available. Researchers at UC Davis simulated 100% electric vehicle adoption and a 100% renewable energy-powered electricity grid by 2045 in California. They then compared a scenario of regular electric vehicle charging behavior with a scenario of advanced, flexible, smart charging under which charging is aligned with renewable energy availability, to understand how smart vehicle charging could benefit the electricity grid.
    Cover page: Smart Charging of Electric Vehicles Will Reduce Emissions and Costs in a 100% Renewable Energy Future in California
    • Article
    White Papers (2019)
    California has a range of existing and proposed targets toward a low carbon future. This paper summarizes an analytical review, focused on modeling approaches and what is known about their feasibility and cost. The findings in this paper are based on the Climate Change Policy Modeling (CCPM) forum, which included modelers, policy makers and stakeholders evaluating targets and pathways to low-carbon futures and identifying required policies to achieve goals. The third forum, CCPM-3, was on May 14th, 2018, at the University of California, Davis and provided critical discussion and a gathering of the key experts in this topic area This report builds on the findings of CCPM and integrates with other literature where possible. It includes a review of the CO2-relevant targets, discussion of studies and modeling efforts to assess meeting such targets, including feasibility and cost. This includes analysis in the transportation and energy sectors, as well as land use and carbon sequestration.
      Cover page: California Climate Change Target Setting: A Workshop Report and Recommendations to the State of California Based on the Third California Climate Policy Modeling Dialogue and Workshop
      • Article
      ITS reports (2021)
      California has many aggressive climate policies, primarily aimed at individual sectors. This study explores untapped policy opportunities for interactions between sectors, specifically between the transportation and the electricity grid. As electric vehicles become more prevalent, their impact on the electricity grid is directly related to the aggregate patterns of vehicle charging. Even without vehicle-to-grid services, shifting of charging patterns can be a potentially important resource to alleviate issues such as renewable intermittency. This study compares, through modeling, projected emissions reductions from managed vs. unmanaged charging. The lion’s share of emissions reduction in the light-duty transportation sector in California will come from electrification, with a cumulative 1 billion tons of CO2 reduction through 2045. Decarbonization of the current grid leads to an additional savings of 125 million tons of CO2 over the same time-period. Potential state policies to exploit synergies between transportation electrification and grid decarbonization could reduce cumulative emissions by another 10 million tons of CO2. These policies include strategic deployment of charging infrastructure, pricing mechanisms, standardizing grid interaction protocols, and supporting grid infrastructure requirements.
        Cover page: Green Charging of Electric Vehicles Under a Net-Zero Emissions Policy Transition in California
        • Article
        ITS reports (2019)

        How, and how effectively, different electric vehicle (EV) related policies will work is an immediate and important question for California as the state updates its EV policies. Adding urgency, Assembly Bill (AB) 615, which was signed by the Governor, requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to produce a report by December 2018 on related topics, in consultation with the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies (UC ITS). Senate Bill (SB) 498, also signed, also requires CARB reporting with somewhat different but overlapping topics. The need is to define the state of the research on policies to support EV deployment in a manner that is directly usable by California in updating policies. The specific need for CARB is material estimates of these factors (called out in AB 615): "impact of income caps, increased rebates for low-income consumers, and increased outreach on the electric vehicle market, as well as a quantification of emissions reductions attributable to the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project."

        This white paper is one in a series summarizing recent research findings for the state of California. The topic of the series is evaluating the important components of electric vehicle adoption and its effects. The goals of these white papers are to: 1. Synthesize the best published and on-going research available on each topic; 2. Highlight important research gaps and propose areas for future research; 3. Provide the reader with a framework for understanding the various dimensions of each topic; 4. Make a clear link between research findings and policy implications, if possible; and 5. Be accessible to an informed and interested, but non-technical audience.

          Cover page: State-of-the-Knowledge White Paper Series: How Zero-Emission Vehicle Incentives and Related Policies Affect the Market
          • Article
          Policy Briefs (2019)
          Dynamic and responsive transportation systems are a core pillar of equitable and sustainable communities. Achieving such systems requires comprehensive mobility data, or data that reports the movement of individuals and vehicles. Such data enable planners and policymakers to make informed decisions and enable researchers to model the effects of various transportation solutions. However, collecting mobility data also raises concerns about privacy and proprietary interests. We argue that a middle-ground approach, in which data are shared in specific contexts and managed by a trusted third party, can capture the benefits of data sharing while minimizing risks. This brief provides an overview of the top needs and challenges surrounding mobility data sharing and presents relevant policy strategies.
            Cover page: Mobility Data Sharing: Challenges and Policy Recommendations
            • Article
            Policy Briefs (2020)
            A California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rulemaking and possible legislative action in 2020 could affect data sharing requirements, with implications for shared mobility providers. The purpose of this brief is to inform this regulatory and legislative decision-making. We solicited policy and planning questions and data needs for shared mobility from within the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies research network. We defined shared mobility as including shared mobility devices, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, and transportation network companies (TNCs). We evaluated whether data shared in accordance with each of six mobility data specifications could be used to support analyses that would answer these questions. We then defined three approaches to data sharing and analysis to address these and other questions, presenting the advantages and disadvantages of each. This brief does not address the full breadth of the questions raised in the CPUC rulemaking nor does it introduce the complexities of this topic. Beyond the scope of this brief are issues of user privacy, the legal authority for sharing data, and contractual or requirements for each possible model of data sharing and analysis.
              Cover page: Sharing Mobility Data for Planning and Policy Research
              • Article
              White Papers (2019)
              Dynamic and responsive transportation systems are a core pillar of equitable and sustainable communities. Achieving such systems requires comprehensive mobility data, or data that reports the movement of individuals and vehicles. Such data enable planners and policymakers to make informed decisions and enable researchers to model the effects of various transportation solutions. However, collecting mobility data also raises concerns about privacy and proprietary interests. This issue paper provides an overview of the top needs and challenges surrounding mobility data sharing and presents four relevant policy strategies: (1) Foster voluntary agreement among mobility providers for a set of standardized data specifications; (2) Develop clear data-sharing requirements designed for transportation network companies and other mobility providers; (3) Establish publicly held big-data repositories, managed by third parties, to securely hold mobility data and provide structured access by states, cities, and researchers; (4) Leverage innovative land-use and transportation-planning tools.
                Cover page: Mobility Data Sharing: Challenges and Policy Recommendations
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine, Volume 4, Issue 3 (2020)

                Introduction: Diplopia is an uncommon emergency department (ED) complaint representing only 0.1% of visits, but it has a large differential. One cause is a cranial nerve palsy, which may be from a benign or life-threatening process.

                Case Report: A 69-year-old female presented to the ED with two days of diplopia and dizziness. The physical exam revealed a sixth cranial nerve palsy isolated to the left eye. Imaging demonstrated an intracavernous internal carotid artery aneurysm. The patient was treated with embolization by neurointerventional radiology.

                Discussion: The evaluation of diplopia is initially divided into monocular, usually from a lens problem, or binocular, indicating an extraocular process. Microangiopathic disease is the most common cause of sixth nerve palsy; however, more serious etiologies may be present, such as an intracavernous internal carotid artery aneurysm, as in the patient described. Imaging modalities may include computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

                Conclusion: Some causes of sixth nerve palsy are benign, while others will require more urgent attention, such as consideration of an intracavernous internal carotid artery aneurysm.

                  Cover page: Intracavernous Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysm Presenting as Acute Diplopia: A Case ReportCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
                  • Article
                  Policy Briefs (2021)
                  The rapid growth of micromobility, which includes shared e-scooters and bicycles, seems poised to continue. There is a distinct need to understand which policies are most effective in maximizing the benefits and minimizing the issues for micromobility services. There is also a need to understand how different micromobility policies affect broader transportation systems, and to identify best practices for policy consistency across jurisdictional boundaries.
                    Cover page: Local Policies for Better Micromobility
                    Top