Pacific Southwest Region 9 UTC, University of Southern California
Abstract
The goal of this research project is to evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of electric vehicles (EVs) in delivery vehicle fleets. We assume fleet operators have both EVs and conventionally fueled vehicles (CFVs) at their disposal for delivery services, and that fleet operators select a mix of EVs and CFVs that minimize overall costs. Moreover, we assume EVs offer a per mile cost advantage over CFVs due to the lower costs of electricity compared to gasoline/diesel, and government subsidies. We also assume that EVs have a shorter range than CFVs. We model the fleet operator\u2019s decision problem as a mixed vehicle routing problem, wherein the decision levers include the routing of EVs and CFVs to serve all delivery locations at minimum cost. Using the Los Angeles (LA) and Orange counties as the study area with a single depot, we develop computational experiments to evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of EVs in delivery vehicle fleets. The results indicate that with EV range less than 100 miles, it is not possible for EVs to serve all the demand in the region. At a 200-mile EV range, and where the EV cost per mile is approximately 60% of the CFV cost per mile, the optimal fleet mix is all EVs. With EV range less than 200, or a tighter gap between EV and CFV costs, the optimal fleet includes both EVs and CFVs. Mostly importantly, the results indicate that increasing EV range is the most important factor, more so than reducing EV costs, in reducing CFVs in medium-duty delivery vehicle fleets, and reducing total emissions
