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Perspectives of experts on what parking and mobility organizations should be thinking about and doing moving forward.
A QUIET REVOLUTION is occurring in the transportation system as national, state, and local governments are planning toward a carbon neutral future to combat poor air and water quality and climate change. Automakers, too, are reacting to these currents of change; a recent Forbes article highlighted a dozen auto manufacturers that will have electric vehicle models in production in 2020. And forecasts are calling for up to 40 percent of car sales by 2040 to be electric vehicles. Put simply, the electric vehicle is here to stay. With the momentum building, how does the parking and mobility industry fit into an electric transportation future: We asked industry experts to give us some insights into what the future will look like and what we can do now as parking and mobility practitioners to be successful looking.
What role should parking and mobility professionals play in the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in our urban centers?
Alejandra Argudin, CAPP—Based on the increased demand for electric vehicles over the past few years as well as projections for the future by individuals who own homes with garages that allow them to recharge their own vehicles, it is the responsibility of parking and mobility professionals to support the deployment of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure by evaluating and siting the potential locations for implementation, such as, but not limited to, lots and garages, as well as the curb in highlyurbanized areas. While that has been the trend for homeowners, there is also a higher demand for ride-sharing modes of transportation, punctuated by a lower rate of vehicle ownership by millennials. If millennials are driving that trend, in the not-toodistant future parking and mobility professionals will also need to reassess the allocation of spaces in parking facilities for charging stations to service fleets of electric ride-sharing vehicles.
Jim Burness—While 80 percent of all charging today happens at home, most EV buyers to date have been either owners of single-family homes or renters in higher-end apartment communities. As the EV revolution continues to expand, buyers who don’t have a dedicated parking spot will need to find reliable places to charge up. After the home, the second most common charging spot is the workplace, followed by destination charging (retail, etc.). For more and more electric drivers moving forward, charging and parking in professionally-managed facilities will become increasingly important.
Scott Froemming—Parking and mobility professionals should provide support to business owners and transit professionals by guiding them with planning and procurement of electric vehicle charging systems. Planning assistance may involve determination of system operation, quantity, and schedule forecast. Procurement assistance may include guidance on specifying equipment, planning installation locations, construction documents for improvements, operational parameter planning, and marketing outreach suggestions.
What information and data points need to be gathered to make decisions on the quantity and location of charging stations deployments?
Bud Braughton—Parking meters are generally installed in high-traffic areas and data sources from these can confirm local knowledge of areas in the downtown as well as other urban popular destinations prime for locating EV chargers. Parking meters are part of both public and private agencies’ parking management solutions. Public infrastructure such as libraries, stadiums, tourist attractions, civic buildings, universities, restaurants, bars and hospitals generate high parking demand, which is a major driver for parking meter use, and working with parking and mobility experts to identify appropriate locations is essential.
Mark Berndt—The type and quantity of charging stations should be based on the volume of electric vehicles, the time each vehicle will spend there, and obviously the cost to install and operate the stations. Be forward looking in your expectations of how many vehicles will be accessible in the future, not just what you would see today.
Mike McCabe—Information is available from many sources, including EV driver apps such as Plugshare and Google Maps and the DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center website. A good start would be to survey vehicles that are already using a parking facility. Are there EVs already using the facility? Are there existing EV charging facilities located nearby? Do car dealers in the area offer EV choices? Are there local or state EV buyer incentives available?
OUR PANELISTS
Alejandra Argudin, CAPP, CEO, Miami Parking Authority Mark Berndt, Director of Business Development, AEP Ohio Bud Braughton, Senior Project Manager, City of Columbus Jim Burness, Founder & CEO, National Car Charging
Andrew Duvall, PhD, Transportation Behavioral Analyst, National Renewable Engineering Lab Scott Froemming, Managing Principal, Walker Consultants Rose Lenoff, Director of Business Development, Greenspot Mike McCabe, EV Marketing & Sales Strategist, Nissan North America
What should parking operators be thinking about when planning for electric vehicle charging installations in existing lots and garages?
Andy Duvall, PhD—Parking operators should be thinking about how to integrate charging capabilities into upgrade or new construction plans, and for novel or emerging uses for their facilities as traditional parking models begin to shift. Planning for parking facilities to be used for fleet activities for charging of electric ride-hailing vehicles, or even time-shifted uses of facilities, such as serving as evening or night time micro-distribution centers for delivery services.
Alejandra Argudin, CAPP—They should be re-wiring the electric infrastructure of their facilities to be able to power the charging stations without any outages or issues. In addition, they need to determine whether the service will be offered as an additional benefit to their customers at no cost, or whether the demand is high enough to merit selling advertising to generate revenues or charge the customer for the service. If charging for the service, a policy will have to be put in place whereby the customer receives an alert when the charge has been completed in order to turn over the space. If a customer overstays their time after the charge has been completed, a penalty should be imposed. Operators will also need to add the cost of signage and advertising to promote the program.
Jim Burness—Planning is a really important issue. Many cities across the country are beginning to adopt minimum pre-wiring or charging installation minimums into the building codes, and for good reason. Studies have shown that retrofit costs are often eight times the cost of installation of infrastructure at new construction. Even more importantly, however, these new codes force architects and planners to think about things that were less important in the past, such as where the electric
room should be placed to make expansion in the future as easy as possible, and how much the electric room should be oversized beyond what is needed today (hint—a lot!). Right now, we recommend installing plugs in 1-2 percent of all stalls (new car sales with plugs are approaching 3 percent), with additional infrastructure to support 3-4 times that amount.
Scott Froemming—Operators should be thinking about who they will be offering charging services to and how to provide access to the electrical power. Once you commit to providing charging, you need to know where you would physically like to locate charging devices and how the consumer will access the power. You may allow free charging, have an access control system to limit access to charging device, or have an access control system as a component of the charging device. You will also have to communicate and enforce the operational requirements of the charging systems. All these items must be well-thought-out and documented before considering installation.
What role should utilities play in developing electric vehicle charging infrastructure as compared to private sector charging companies? What federal, state or public utility programs are working well for vehicular electrification? What programs need to be created or improved upon to better serve our industry?
Andy Duvall, PhD—Utilities can play a dynamic role in supporting EV charging infrastructure, in particular filling in gaps that private sector companies are less likely to fill with regard to developing solutions for locations where users may not have private parking options. States that have EV charging infrastructure incentives, new construction requirements for EV charging, and coupled with utilities that offer time-of-use rates to encourage offpeak charging are best positioned to inform replicable practices.
Mark Berndt—Utilities need to play a key role in developing the infrastructure to ensure that the required system upgrades are optimized, and that the grid continues to operate in a way that ensures reliability while keeping customer costs as low as possible. Many utility electric transportation programs have been successful as accomplishing this to date.
Rose Lenoff—Utilities should educate the public on the benefits of EVs and EVSE and work directly with small businesses and municipalities to complete the necessary make-ready work prior to station installation. Utility companies such as Eversource in the Northeast successfully provide their customers with various electrification programs and support, and in turn, have seen a significant uptick of charging station availability in their service territory.
Mike McCabe—In some areas, utilities are one of the primary developers of infrastructure. For instance, in Ohio, AEP is offering incentives to facilitate installation of chargers both in underserved areas but also in areas that would not be considered underserved. Utility incentives for infrastructure can be an important tool to facilitate infrastructure development.
There have been discussions regarding the modernization and electrification of our local thoroughfares and highway systems. These plans will require state and local consent, and will need to take into consideration local concerns. That said, how important is vehicular electrification including transportation infrastructure to the domestic economy?
Alejandra Argudin, CAPP—Electrification continues to grow in the transportation market. From personal electric vehicles to electric buses, the trend is evident. Charging stations are being installed in park-and-ride lots throughout the country and can be found in larger residential developments and even retail establishments (Whole Foods, among others). The market share for electric passenger vehicles, utility vehicles, and transit buses is growing although it is hardly a dominant factor to date. But the interest in lower cost, environmentally-friendly mobility has tremendous appeal. Transit agencies are pursuing electric vehicles because of greater reliability than internal combustion engines and are hesitating only because of limited cruising range on existing batteries, an issue that is becoming less significant over time. As electric vehicles continue to be sold in response to consumer demand, prices will come down (the Tesla now has a model that sells for $35,000) and businesses (retail, hospitality, residential) can attract customer by installing charging stations, the market share for all-electric vehicles will grow as a share of the automobile and transit market.
Bud Braughton—As transportation electrification continues to expand, it enhances opportunity to move to more domestic and cleaner sources of energy for cars, buses, and transportation network companies. Also, due to opportunities for greater efficiencies, low-income residents have a way for some relief from the much higher energy burdens; Providing the electrification option is a welcome source of energy for transportation as it is not only cleaner, but provides additional local employment opportunities.
Rose Lenoff—By facilitating the adoption of vehicles that utilize domestic energy, parking and mobility professionals are expanding domestic economic growth, and simultaneously improving the natural environment.◆ This article is a product of IPMI’s Research & Innovation Task Force: Electrification Working Group.
