A small share of motorists burns about a third of America’s gasoline, a study found. Switching to electric vehicles would make a huge dent in climate-warming emissions.
The key to cutting emissions from cars and light trucks that are heating the planet could lie with the nation’s super drivers, the small percentage of American motorists who drive, on average, about 110 miles per day.
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If more of those drivers switched to electric vehicles from gasoline-powered models, it would make a major dent in greenhouse gases from transportation, which have so far been slow to decline, according to a new analysis published on Wednesday by Coltura, an environmental nonprofit group based in Seattle.
While the average American driver travels about 13,400 miles per year, people who buy electric vehicles today tend to drive them less than that, limiting the climate benefits of switching to a cleaner car.
By contrast, the top 10 percent of motorists in the United States drive an average of about 40,200 miles per year and account for roughly one-third of the nation’s gasoline use. Persuading more of these “gasoline superusers” to go electric would lead to a much faster reduction in emissions, the Coltura report found.
That includes people like Pedro Jimenez, 40, who lives in northwest Georgia and says he can “easily” travel around 150 to 200 miles per day to different job sites around the region, where he remodels homes and rehabilitates apartment buildings.
He drives a 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck so he can haul drywall, appliances and other equipment, and typically spends around $200 to $300 per week on gas, which can eat up a quarter or more of his pay.
In an interview, Mr. Jimenez said he recently started thinking about buying an electric pickup truck as a way to save money, though he still had questions about whether he could find enough places to charge the vehicle. The biggest obstacle, he said, was the upfront cost. While electric vehicles can save money over the long run because of lower fuel costs, they often cost more to purchase, even with federal tax incentives.
“If I can figure out the down payment, it would be an intriguing option,” Mr. Jimenez said. “It’s ridiculous the amount I spend on gas.”
Many of America’s biggest drivers are tradespeople like Mr. Jimenez. Others are low- or middle-income Americans who have been pushed out of cities by rising housing prices and face long commutes.
The new report by Coltura offers one of the most detailed pictures yet of Americans’ driving habits and gasoline consumption, by analyzing GPS data from millions of vehicles and Census Bureau surveys. It builds on earlier reports the group has issued, including a detailed study of high-mileage drivers in California.
Among the findings: Around 21 million Americans account for 35 percent of the nation’s gasoline use from private light-duty vehicles — cars, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles, vans and minivans. That’s more gasoline than is burned each year in Brazil, Canada and Russia combined.
These drivers are more likely to live in rural areas and small towns, drive an average of 116 miles per weekday and own vehicles that are larger and less fuel-efficient. They also spend, on average, about 10 percent of their household income on gasoline.
The report identifies areas that have a disproportionate number of super drivers. In Weymouth Township, N.J., roughly 41 percent of motorists fall into this category, because many residents commute more than 50 miles to Philadelphia for work.
“If we want electric vehicles to have the greatest impact, we need to get the highest-mileage drivers behind the wheel,” said John Helveston, an assistant professor of engineering at The George Washington University who was an author of a recent study finding that electric vehicles were driven less than gasoline cars.
Increasingly, some states are trying to do just that. Lawmakers in California, Maryland, Vermont and Washington have recently proposed policies to encourage high-mileage drivers to go electric.
“We’re at the point where we need to start targeting our electric vehicle policies toward the people who are harder to reach,” said Phil Ting, a Democratic State Assembly member in California who has repeatedly introduced bills to create incentives for low- and middle-income people who drive long distances to switch to electric vehicles.
In its latest climate action plan, the state of Maryland proposed an electric vehicle rebate worth up to $5,000 for people who drive long distances. The program, which is not finalized, would require applicants to trade in their older cars and show that they previously had used at least 800 gallons of gasoline per year.
Burlington Electric Department, a Vermont utility, will soon test an incentive worth up to $500 aimed at helping high-mileage drivers go electric. If the program works, it could be expanded.
In Washington State, lawmakers recently commissioned a study of the state’s biggest gasoline users. The study proposed a number of options to help those drivers go electric, including leasing incentives or a program to help electric vehicle owners occasionally borrow gasoline-powered trucks if they need one for hauling or towing.
“We’ll probably try a few different pilot programs at first to see what it might take to get this group of users to switch to electric vehicles,” said Marko Liias, a Democratic state senator. “But the economic benefit to these families is potentially huge. It would be a mistake not to try.”
Other experts say states could focus on electrifying taxi, Uber and Lyft fleets, something that California and New York City are trying. Ashley Nunes, the director of federal climate and energy policy at the Breakthrough Institute, a research organization, says that policies that help lower-income households trade in their older, more polluting vehicles could prove even more cost-effective.
Many obstacles remain.
Charging is one. Even though the biggest drivers travel, on average, about 116 miles per weekday, well within the range of most modern electric cars, some may be worried about finding places to plug in. A recent report from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group, found that the increase in public charging stations in the United States has lagged far behind growth in electric vehicle sales.
Finding the right vehicle might be another. The Washington state study found that heavy users of fuel disproportionately drove pickup trucks and large SUVs. Electric versions of these vehicles are currently limited, though that is expected to change in the years ahead.
A large number of high fuel users are also lower-income Americans who are far less likely to purchase new vehicles. Many of these drivers are likely waiting for cars to filter into the used vehicle market, a process that can take years.
States might have to experiment with different policies to help high-mileage drivers go electric, said Janelle London, co-executive director of Coltura. But as a starting point, the group recommends that states set targets for reducing gasoline consumption so that they can better track whether their efforts are working.
“States have usually focused on the number of electric cars sold as a metric of success,” Ms. London said. “But the health and economic and climate benefits come from reducing gasoline use. That’s what we should be focused on.”
Audio produced by Patricia Sulbarán.
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