Personal Impact

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Transportation

 

 

 

Electric-drive vehicle sales continue to increase; however, such vehicles still represent a small percentage of the total vehicle registrations.

The number of electric drive vehicles (EVs)* registered in the state increased by 14,127 or approximately 47 percent from 2022 to 2023; however, the number of registered EVs represents less than two percent of all registered vehicles in the state.⁹⁶ Significant reductions of GHG emissions in the transportation sector are necessary and achievable by reducing the combustion of fossil fuels through increased fuel efficiency, use of mass transit, and use of EVs that operate on “clean” electricity or “green” hydrogen. 

It is projected that the EV stock in Connecticut could increase by approximately 550,000 vehicles over the next ten years. To support the adoption and use of EVs, electricity consumption is projected to increase by more than 2,500 gigawatt-hours, and winter peak demand is projected to increase by approximately 630 megawatts by 2032.⁹⁷

In 2023, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) had four EVs and 11 electric buses and the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS) had 43 EVs (including 19 EVs leased to the CTDOT), which represents approximately 1.2 percent of the DAS vehicle fleet.⁹⁸

Goal: There is a 2020 goal for 125,000 EVs in Connecticut by 2025.⁹⁹ Public Act 22-25 requires that an increasing percentage of all cars and light duty trucks purchased or leased by the state be battery electric vehicles, increasing to at least 50 percent by 2026, at least 75 percent by 2028, and 100 percent by 2030.

_{Technical Note: Personal Impact indicators illustrate trends in behavior or practices that can be expected to influence the condition of tomorrow’s air, water, land and wildlife. * Electric drive vehicles (EVs) include plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV), battery electric (BEV), electric motorcycles, and fuel cell electric (FCEV) vehicles. Electric motorcycles and fuel cell electric vehicles are included in the “Grand Total” of EVs  registered in the state. “Green” hydrogen refers to the production of hydrogen from sources other than fossil fuel.}

 

Sales of transportation fuels increased in 2022.

In 2022, (the most recent available data) the sale of gasoline/gasohol in the transportation sector was 1.6 percent higher than the previous ten-year average; the sale of special fuels, which is primarily comprised of diesel, was 9.4 percent higher than the previous ten-year average;¹⁰⁰  and the sale of aviation fuels was approximately 0.6 percent lower than the previous ten-year average.¹⁰¹ The effect of the pandemic on fuel sales and the resultant emissions from the transportation sector is also evident based on the amount of transportation fuel sold in the state in 2020 and 2021.

  

Ridership: People got on the bus more often in 2023 than in 2022.

In fiscal year (FY) 2023, total ridership (39 million passenger trips) on fixed route, commuter, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transit services increased from FY 2022 (27.5 million passenger trips). In FY 2023, the average was 10.8 passenger trips per capita, which is approximately 43 percent higher than FY 2022 (7.57), and 4.3 percent greater than the ten-year average (10.4).¹⁰² Some reasons for the general decline in ridership in FY 2020 through FY2022, compared to previous years include the impact of COVID 19, alternate work arrangements (teleworking), and the success in ride sharing efforts. It should be noted that buses were fare free from April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022, and that was extended through March 31, 2023. Federal restrictions prevent the state from extending this suspension of fares for any longer than 12 months.¹⁰³

 

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⁹⁶ _{DEEP, Bureau of Air Management; personal communication from P. Kritzler, February 2, 2024. USDOT, Federal Highway Administration. State Motor-Vehicle Registrations – 2021, February 2023 (Revised October 2023); www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2021/mv1.cfm#foot2.}

⁹⁷ _{ISO-New England, Final 2023 Transportation Electrification Forecast, April 28, 2023; www.iso-ne.com/static-assets/documents/2023/04/transfx2023_final.pdf.}

⁹⁸ _{Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS), personal communication from S. McGirr, January 4, 2024, and Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), personal communication from P. Zelez, February 6, 2024.}

⁹⁹  _{DEEP, 2020 Electric Vehicle Roadmap for Connecticut, April 21, 2020; portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Climate-Change/EV-Roadmap.}

¹⁰⁰  _{United States Department of Transportation (US DOT), Federal Highway Administration, Office of Highway Policy Information, Motor Fuel & Highway Trust Fund; www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/motorfuelhwy_trustfund.cfm.}

¹⁰¹ _{United State Energy Information Administration (EIA), State Energy Consumption Estimates 1960 Through 2021, Table CT7; www.eia.gov/state/seds/archive/seds2021.pdf and State Energy Data System, Aviation gasoline and Jet Fuel consumption estimates, 2022; www.eia.gov/state/seds/data.php?incfile=/state/seds/sep_fuel/html/fuel_av.html&sid=CT, Tables F1 and F2.}

¹⁰² _{CTDOT, Bureau of Public Transportation, Office of Transit & Ridesharing; personal communication from T. Roth; February 29, 2024.}

¹⁰³  _{CTDOT, CTTransit, Suspension of Bus Fares Statewide Continues Through March 31, 2023, November 29, 2022 and CTTransit FAQs- Fares, accessed 3-6-2024; www.cttransit.com/faqs-fares.}