Issue: Transportation

Majorities of likely voters support the climate investment and tax incentives of Build Back Better. 70% of all likely voters support investments to make homes, buildings, and schools more energy efficiency (86% support among Democrats, 54% among Republians). 67% support investments in clean energy research. 65% support tax credits for clean energy projects. 63% support clean energy performance incentives for utilities. 62% support investments in frontline communities. 57% support creating a Civilian Climate Corps. 57% support investments to make electric vehicles more affordable. 54% support phasing out coal, oil, and gas.             

A large majority of likely voters in battleground congressional districts support federal investments in infrastructure and clean energy. 70% of likely voters surveyed (in 9 total congressional districts across 7 states) support the recently-passed federal infrastructure investments in roads, bridges, pipes, transportation, and electric power. Support was polarized: 93% of Democrats expressed support, compared to 64% of independents and 48% of Republicans. On a separate question, 66% of all likely voters support making additional climate and clean energy investments (with similarly polarized support). Similar levels of all likely voters also support the $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” package proposal. Further, 50% of voters said they would be more likely to vote against a politician who opposed the Build Back Better proposal.             

President Biden sped around in a new Ford F-150 Lightning earlier this week proclaiming, “This sucker’s quick!”
Of course, we’ve also seen a “quick” acceleration in the electric vehicle space over the past few months, with Biden calling for huge investments in EVs and charging infrastructure as part of the American Jobs Plan and numerous automakers announcing plans to phase out production of gas vehicles. The last time our team examined insights around transportation electrification*, the Trump administration was challenging California’s clean car standards. Today, that effort is dead and more than a dozen states have adopted the standards and are moving forward with policy implementation. Yay for progress!
However, even with momentum (and renewed concern about the price and availability of gas, with the recent Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack), fewer than 1% of U.S. cars are electric. Analysts project sales of gasoline-powered vehicles need to end by 2035 if we want a fully electric fleet by 2050, requiring a much more ambitious timeline than current policies dictate.
This week, we dig into insights from a slew of recent polling and messaging research that helps us understand how to structure campaigns that build the public and political will necessary for a just transition to clean cars – while also recognizing the importance of reducing vehicle miles traveled overall and ending our dependence on single-occupancy vehicles.

52% of Americans agree that electric vehicles are instrumental in combating climate change, and 41% say they would consider an EV for their next car.
45% of Americans— and 72% of potential EV drivers — say environmental considerations are important when buying a car.
46% agree that governments should increase tax incentives for people who buy EVs 
 Top barrier to buying is drivers’ uncertainty around finding a charging station when they need. Only 18% of Americans, and 30% of potential EV drivers, say that there are enough charging stations in their area.
Nearly 4 in 10 (39%) EV drivers said they’ve had problems charging their EVs at public charging stations that were broken, not designed to accommodate people with disabilities, or otherwise difficult to use.
According to survey responses, the typical U.S. EV driver is young (18 to 34), male, highly educated, and charges their EV mostly at home (73%). Most EV drivers own multiple cars — often, an EV plus a gas car — a sign that drivers don’t feel comfortable going fully-electric without a backup because EV charging infrastructure is not yet widely available.