[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14667-14668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04812]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2023-0011]


Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information Collection: 
Electric Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (eVIUS)

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the BTS to request 
the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) approval for a new 
information collection related to the nation's Battery Electric 
Vehicles (BEVs). The information collected will be used to produce 
national statistics on the characteristics and uses of BEVs. A summary 
report of survey findings will also be published by BTS on the BTS web 
page: www.bts.gov.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before Friday, May 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 
DOT-OST-2023-0011 to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 
Dockets Management System (DMS). You may submit your comments by mail 
or in person to the Docket Clerk, Docket No., U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590. Comments should identify the docket number as 
indicated above. Paper comments should be submitted in duplicate. The 
DMS is open for examination and copying, at the above address, from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. If you 
wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your written comments, 
please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard with the following 
statement: ``Comments on Docket DOT-OST-2023-0011.'' The Docket Clerk 
will date stamp the postcard prior to returning it to you via the U.S. 
mail. Please note that due to delays in the delivery of U.S. mail to 
Federal offices in Washington, DC, we recommend that persons consider 
an alternative method (the internet, fax, or professional delivery 
service) to submit comments to the docket and ensure their timely 
receipt at U.S. DOT. You may fax your comments to the DMS at (202) 493-
2251. Comments can also be viewed and/or submitted via the Federal 
Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Please note that anyone is able to electronically search all 
comments received into our docket management system by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment if submitted 
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may 
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; pages 19475-19570) 
or you may review the Privacy Act Statement at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Grube, (202) 734-1569, eVIUS 
Program Manager, BTS, OST-R, Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Ave. SE, Room E32-317, Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are 
from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Electric Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (eVIUS).
    Background: The BTS, with its partners, the Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is 
planning to conduct the first Electric Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey 
(eVIUS).
    Every 5 years from 1962 to 2002, as a part of the Economic Census, 
the U.S. Census Bureau conducted the Truck Inventory and Use Survey 
(TIUS), which was renamed the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) 
in 1997. The survey was conducted to better understand the 
characterizes and use of trucks on our nation's roads. Since its 
inception, the survey has been used to guide investments in the 
nation's infrastructure, conduct size and weight studies, track changes 
in vehicle technologies, and more. In 2022, the BTS, in partnership 
with the US Census Bureau, FHWA, and DOE, conducted the 2021 VIUS, the 
first VIUS in almost two decades. The survey scope was inclusive of all 
Class 1-8 trucks.
    As the pace of electric vehicles increases on the nation's 
roadways, to aid public planning for future transportation systems and 
infrastructure investments, BTS is planning to conduct an electric 
vehicle specific VIUS to better understand the characteristics and uses 
of battery electric vehicles, with an expanded scope of vehicle types 
to include passenger cars and buses. The data collection will be 
administered to a national sample of battery electric vehicle owners. 
The sample will be stratified on the vehicle registration state and the 
class size of the vehicle. The survey will request the respondents to 
provide information such as: Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) over the past 
12 months, the average VMT in a typical trip, the type of vehicle owner 
(personal, commercial, lessee), the number of other vehicles owned in 
the household, charging behaviors, and type of use. The survey will be 
limited to 10 questions and the data collection period will be limited 
to 12-weeks to ensure timely results.
    Respondents: The target population for the survey will be all 
registered battery electric vehicle owners in the U.S. The respondents 
will be sampled proportionally by registration state and Gross Vehicle 
Weight Rating (GVWR) class size.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: The burden per respondent is 
estimated to be an average of 10 minutes. This average is based on an

[[Page 14668]]

estimate of 1 minute to answer each question.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The total annual burden (in the year 
that the survey is conducted) is estimated to be between 1,666 and 
3,333 hours depending on the final sample size (that is 10 minutes per 
respondent for 10,000-20,000 respondents, which equals 100,000-200,000 
minutes).
    Frequency: One time.
    Public Comments Invited: Interested parties are invited to send 
comments regarding any aspect of this information collection, 
including, but not limited to: (1) the necessity and utility of the 
information collection for the proper performance of the functions of 
the DOT; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, clarity and content of the collected information; 
and (4) ways to minimize the collection burden without reducing the 
quality of the collected information. Comments submitted in response to 
this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on the 6th of March 2023.
Cha-Chi Fan,
Director, Office of Data Development and Standards, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2023-04812 Filed 3-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P