Rural vehicle electrification: Insights on plug-in electric vehicle adoption and use in an urban-rural context
Rajbanshi, Binaya
Rajbanshi, Binaya
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Abstract
While rural travel is known to differ from urban travel in general, little is known about the compatibility of battery electric vehicles (BEV) with rural travel, and the corresponding implications on rural BEV adoption and use. As the BEV technology advances and consumer options expand, it is important to evaluate BEV usability in rural areas to inform efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from rural travel. This study analyzes the revealed BEV usage data of 1,208 multivehicle households with BEVs and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) in the largely rural state of Vermont to understand how the travel outcomes and the attributes of vehicles differ between rural and urban regions. We find that rural multivehicle households that have BEVs and ICEVs have a higher proportion of heavier vehicles and ICEVs that are pickup trucks or are less fuel efficient when compared with their urban counterparts. However, the electric driving range of BEVs and the relative age of both BEVs and ICEVs are comparable in these households. We find that living in a rural context is related to higher relative BEV usage, with long-range BEVs (more than 220 miles) having significant potential to increase the usability in both regions. Overall, our findings indicate that rural vehicle profiles and BEV usage differ from urban regions, with significant potential for substantial BEV usage in rural regions as the market expands to provide more long-range and larger vehicles.
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Date
1/1/2026
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Graduate Student
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Poster
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Civil Engineering
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College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences
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Engineering