Replica is thrilled to release the Places Spring 2023 season, spanning March, April, and May 2023, offering complete travel behavior for weekdays and weekends. With this release, customers have access to the granularity of Places data, on just a 3-month lag, and for the first time, with trip data specific to EVs.
Replica now categorizes all private auto trips by Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or Other Non-BEV with the new Vehicle Fuel Type filter. With this major addition to Replica’s trip data, customers can filter and analyze trips made by EVs and study the transportation patterns of EV trip-takers by viewing trip origins, destinations, and routes, as well as home and school/work locations.
As EV adoption grows exponentially and investment in charging infrastructure skyrockets, it becomes more and more important to have up-to-date, detailed data. As the shift from traditional vehicles to EVs accelerates, understanding where EV trip-takers live, their demographics, and their travel patterns has become essential to address a continued focus on environmental sustainability, equity, and economic development.
To help customers imagine how this new data can empower your EV planning and implementation, we've compiled a few use cases in Seattle, Washington, to demonstrate what you can do with the new “Vehicle Fuel Type” filter.
Where do EV trips start and end? What are the demographics of the trip takers?
Replica's mobility data is especially powerful because travel patterns are linked to trip takers' socio-demographic information. With the addition of the Vehicle Fuel Type filter, Replica makes it possible to analyze trips made by EVs and the transportation patterns of EV trip-takers.
To visualize where EV trips start and end, you can apply the Vehicle Fuel Type filter (set to BEV), toggle on the map layers for trip origins or destinations, and then leverage the summary panel to understand the demographic characteristics of those trip-takers utilizing an EV.
Today, the majority of EV trips are shorter intra-Seattle trips, but a portion of trips do leave Seattle. For instance, on a typical weekday, 1,020 trips start in Seattle and end in Bellevue. The data reveals that of all EV trip-takers in Seattle, the average income is $294,000, and 69.8% are White Non-Hispanic/Latino. This data strongly corroborates our understanding of EV ownership, which is highly correlated with high household incomes. Replica’s consistently updated data is particularly valuable in monitoring this trend and understanding how travel patterns change as adoption becomes more widespread.
To address current demand and future planning needs, this data can facilitate targeted investment in areas with existing EV usage and areas that could benefit from EV infrastructure. Furthermore, it equips policymakers with the data to develop and implement targeted policies and incentives to make EV adoption more accessible to a broader range of socioeconomic and demographic cohorts.
Where are EVs on the road today?
Beyond understanding where EV trip-takers live and their demographics, Replica also makes it possible to understand the roadways used by EVs and their share of overall traffic. This makes it possible to prioritize the siting of EV infrastructure to maximize convenient access and capitalize on high-traffic EV routes, thereby supporting the continued growth of EV travel.
In the image from the Replica Platform below, in which we’ve chosen to visualize EV network volumes, it’s clear that I-5 has the highest volumes of EV trips in the region. This is a stark illustration of the impacts of investments like the West Coast Electric Highway program, which is an extensive network of charging stations located on I-5 and other major roadways.
The Places Spring 2023 release is a direct result of invaluable customer feedback and our commitment to delivering the most up-to-date data to our customers. By offering data that is in near real-time, we are empowering our customers to make the most informed decisions for the communities they serve. Whether it’s shaping climate action strategies, utilizing up-to-date insights for competitive grant applications, or optimizing EV infrastructure, Replica data offers the data that agencies need, precisely when it’s needed.
As the adoption of EVs continues to surge, having access to up-to-date EV data is invaluable for agencies shaping the future of transportation. With Replica's Places Spring 2023 season, we are proud to support the growth of EV infrastructure and contribute to a sustainable, equitable, and environmentally conscious future.
Log in to your Replica account today to start your EV analysis using Spring 2023 data. Not yet a customer? Get in touch here to schedule a demo.
