California is transitioning heavy-duty freight trucks from diesel to battery-electric vehicles to help meet its climate and air quality goals. Unlike passenger vehicles, electric trucks require much larger batteries and high-powered chargers, creating concentrated demands on the electric grid. At the same time, freight carriers operate under strict schedules that leave little flexibility in when and how long trucks can charge. As freight electrification expands, coordinating truck operations, charging infrastructure, and grid planning will become increasingly important.
California has set a target of achieving 100% zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales by 2035. While the state has made substantial progress, with ZEVs accounting for roughly 25% of new vehicle sales in 2025, adoption remains uneven across communities. Disadvantaged communities (DACs), which face disproportionate exposure to air pollution, continue to lag in ZEV uptake. Most DAC-related policy efforts to date have focused on demand-side interventions, such as consumer purchase incentives, rather than supply-side approaches that increase vehicle availability. Because more than half of ZEV sales in California occur through franchised dealerships, they are a critical gateway through which consumers access these vehicles and may represent an important leverage point for increasing adoption.
Earthquakes pose a persistent and significant threat to the movement of people, goods, and services. While agencies have made progress on emergency response, planning for recovery (how quickly transportation systems can be restored after a major event) remains limited. A key challenge is that earthquake modeling and transportation system modeling have remained largely separate efforts, making it difficult for agencies to anticipate disruptions, prioritize investments, and coordinate recovery across jurisdictions.
Modern adaptive traffic signals rely on sensors like inductive loop detectors (ILDs) embedded in pavement and cameras mounted above roadways to detect the presence of vehicles and adjust signal timing accordingly. These systems aim to reduce congestion and improve safety. However, bad weather –like rain and fog—can cause sensors to fail or generate false signals, creating unnecessary delays and safety hazards. In addition, an emerging concern is “spoofing”, where individuals intentionally disrupt ILDs by sending false electrical signals. This could cause traffic signals to mismanage flow, increasing congestion and risk of crashes. Sensor fusion, the practice of combining ILD and camera data, is gaining traction as a solution for improving performance. To better understand the vulnerabilities and potential advantages, we tested how sensor fusion performed under a simulated range of traffic and weather conditions and how spoofing attacks affected signal control and object tracking performance.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated hybrid and remote work and online shopping. These changes caused a sharp decline in activity and transit use in downtowns across California, particularly in transit-oriented downtowns that account for a large share of statewide ridership. This decline has major implications for climate commitments, equity, and the economy. Public officials and business leaders are pursuing a range of strategies to revitalize downtowns and support transit recovery. However, transit ridership has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
In Walkable City, Jeff Speck says that induced demand is the thing that everyone in city planning understands but doesn’t talk about. It may be more accurate to categorize induced demand as the thing that everyone in city planning talks about but doesn’t understand. The issue is muddied by inconsistent definitions of relevant terminology.
Fare-free transit programs are increasingly used to increase ridership and reduce household transportation costs, especially for lower-income households. In California, where fewer than ten percent of school trips are made on school buses and many students travel long distances to reach school, transit costs and access can pose real barriers to education and after-school opportunities. At the same time, fare-free programs require substantial and ongoing public investment, raising important questions about whether eliminating fares alone is enough to meaningfully change student travel behavior.
Transportation costs place a disproportionate financial burden on low-income households. Families in the lowest income quintile spend roughly 32 percent of their household income on transportation, which combined with housing costs, can consume nearly all their available budget. Transit affordability is typically addressed by providing discounted public transit fares. But transit alone cannot meet every trip need, and without access to a car or other affordable alternatives low-income travelers may forgo trips — reducing social connections, limiting employment opportunities, and eroding their well-being.
As California transitions to electric vehicles (EVs), ensuring equitable access to public charging remains a challenge. While the state and utilities have invested heavily in new charging infrastructure, simply counting stations does not show whether the network is reliable, affordable, and accessible, particularly for vulnerable populations and renters without home charging options. As of March 2025, California had installed about 178,549 public and shared- private chargers, including roughly 17,000 DC fast chargers. The California Energy Commission projects a need for about 1.01 million chargers by 2030 to support 7.5 million zero-emission vehicles.
Cities and regions are increasingly investing in walking and bicycling infrastructure, driven by well-documented health, social, and environmental benefits of active transportation. However, most agencies lack practical tools to accurately assess whether these investments are achieving their intended outcomes. Accurately measuring change in walking and bicycling attributable to investments like new bike lanes or sidewalks is difficult and involves resources and expertise that is generally not feasible or financially sustainable for mode agencies.
