[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 193 (Friday, October 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69679-69681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22268]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION


Agency Information Collection: Activity Under OMB Review; 
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 Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics (BTS) to request the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) approval of a new information collection related to the 
nation's battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric 
vehicles (PHEVs)--collectively referred to electric vehicles (EVs). The 
information collected will be used to produce national statistics on 
the characteristics and uses of EVs as well as the charging patterns 
and preferences related to EVs. 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 November 2, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jina Mahmoudi, VIUS/eVIUS Program 
Manager, (800) 853-1351, [email protected], BTS, OST-R, Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room E34-471, 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)
    Type of Request: Approval for a new information collection
    Affected Public: Registered owners of battery electric vehicles 
(BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)

Background

    As the pace of electric vehicles' adoption and use increases on the 
nation's roadways, the US Department of Transportation (US DOT)'s 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is planning to conduct the 
first national-

[[Page 69680]]

level Electric Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (eVIUS). The eVIUS will 
be conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of the characteristics, 
usage, and charging patterns of electric vehicles (EVs) as well as the 
demographics and charging preferences of EV owners. The data collected 
through eVIUS will inform policy and planning decisions on future 
transportation systems and infrastructure investments.
    The survey will be administered to owners of a nationally 
representative sample of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in 
hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The survey scope will be inclusive of 
passenger cars and light-duty vehicles (up to 10,000 pounds).
    As there is no existing national-level data source for EV use and 
charging patterns, the eVIUS will provide valuable data and information 
that can assist transportation professionals and other stakeholders at 
the federal, state, and local levels to decipher the characteristics 
and usage of the EVs being driven on US roadways, as well as the 
charging preferences and needs of EV owners. The national-level data 
will inform policy and planning decisions related to EV charging 
infrastructure in the US, thereby leading to increased mobility, 
safety, air quality, and equity on the nation's roadways.

Data Confidentiality Provisions

    This will be a voluntary data collection. A summary report of 
aggregate findings will be published on the BTS web page at 
www.bts.gov, and no individual and company's information or names will 
be included in the published reports. The Bureau of Transportation 
Statistics, its employees and agents, will use the information provided 
by respondents for statistical purposes only and will hold individuals' 
information in confidence to the full extent permitted by law. In 
accordance with the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act of 2002 (Title 5 of Pub. L. 107-347) and the Foundations 
for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Title 3 of Pub. L. 115-
435) along with other applicable Federal laws, no responses will not be 
disclosed in an identifiable form without the respondent's informed 
consent. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2016, Federal 
information systems are protected from malicious activities through 
cybersecurity screening of transmitted data.
    Frequency: One time
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: The burden per respondent is 
estimated to be an average of 16 minutes (0.27 hours). This estimation 
is based on pre-test surveys conducted (with an average respondent 
burden of 15 minutes) plus an additional minute to account for log in 
time.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: Based on an estimated average burden 
of 0.27 hours per respondent and a 30% response rate, the total annual 
burden is estimated to be in the range of 4,050 hours (for a minimum 
number of 50,000 respondents) and 12,150 hours (for a maximum number of 
150,000 respondents).
    Response to Comments: A 60-day notice requesting public comment was 
issued in the Federal Register on March 9, 2023 (88 FR 14667, page 
14667-14668, published 03/09/2023). Three comments were received by BTS 
in response to the 60-day public notice. The BTS' responses to those 
comments are provided below:
    BTS' Response to Comment 1 (from The Association for the Work Truck 
Industry (NTEA):
    For this initial round of eVIUS, BTS would like to focus on light-
duty electric vehicles (EVs). The reasons for this decision are:
     According to the International Energy Agency, the light-
duty EV is becoming a fast-growing mode of transportation as EV sales 
are increasing substantially, and the electric vehicle (BEVs and PHEVs) 
sales in the United States increased 55% in 2022 reaching a sales share 
of 8%. Since the light-duty EVs (e.g., passenger cars) comprise the 
majority of EV population, to aid determination of charging 
infrastructure gaps and inform policy decisions, it is essential to 
collect timely data on use and charging patterns of EVs as currently 
there is no existing source of such data and national statistics;
     Vehicles using the other suggested alternative fuels 
(i.e., hydrogen fuel cell, propane, natural gas and other possible 
future methods of propulsion) are operated differently from EVs. 
Consequently, expansion of the scope of the eVIUS to include these 
vehicles would require adding many questions to the survey 
questionnaire to measure the characteristics and use of such vehicles. 
This will greatly increase the complexity and length of the survey 
questionnaire and add to the respondent burden;
     Further, adding other alternatively fueled vehicles in the 
eVIUS survey would require inclusion of an adequate number of such 
vehicles in the sample frame, which will increase the sample size and 
potentially reduce the overall survey estimation precision, and add to 
the time and budget required for data collection. As alternatively 
fueled vehicles comprise a small proportion of the entire vehicle 
population in the U.S., producing robust statistics will be a challenge 
due to a small population size, which leads to an inadequate sample 
size.
    The eVIUS sample frame is the states' vehicle registration data; 
therefore, any EVs registered in the states have a chance to be sampled 
and included in the sample frame--i.e., government-owned fleets 
(federal, state, local) will not be actively excluded. The eVIUS survey 
questionnaire includes multiple-choice questions that ask respondents 
about the ownership type and usage purpose of the vehicle--allowing 
them to select options that indicate if the vehicle is a government-
owned vehicle (state or local) and if the vehicle is used for a 
government business purpose.
    Since increasing the eVIUS scope to include alternatively fueled 
vehicles would result in the data collection operation schedule and the 
respondent burden considerations becoming less flexible, it is not a 
feasible option for this first round of eVIUS as BTS intends to produce 
timely data (within one year).
    BTS is considering a future data collection specific to the other 
alternatively fueled vehicles, depending on availability of funds.
    BTS' Response to Comment 2 (from Alliance for Automotive 
Innovation):
    A multiple-choice format has been used for the eVIUS as suggested.
    The survey includes questions related to vehicle background and 
type of use, home base, miles traveled, long-distance travel, general 
charging behavior and needs, as well as demographics--capturing 
information for most of the proposed targeted questions.
    BTS' Response to Comment 3 (from The National Automobile Dealers 
Association (NADA)):
    The eVIUS sample frame has been expanded to include owners of plug-
in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as suggested. For this initial 
round of eVIUS, BTS will focus on light-duty EVs due to reasons 
previously outlined (please see ``BTS' Response to Comment 1'' above). 
BTS is considering future data collections focusing on vehicles above 
10,000 pounds, depending on availability of funds.
    A multiple-choice format has been used for the eVIUS as suggested.
    A draft survey was not provided in the sixty-day notice (88 FR 
14667). The survey questionnaire was developed and finalized in 
collaboration with subject matter experts and stakeholders. In 
addition, subject matter experts from various agencies/organizations, 
including academia, have provided BTS

[[Page 69681]]

with suggestions for survey questions. These suggestions were carefully 
considered, and where appropriate, incorporated into the survey 
questionnaire.
    To test question understanding and clarity of instructions, a pre-
test of the draft survey was also conducted with participation of five 
EV owners. Following completion of the survey, one hour long cognitive 
interviews were conducted with each of the pre-testers to collect 
information on their survey experience and other feedback for improving 
the survey. Overall, the pre-testers reported that the survey was 
clear, and they did not have any major issues with understanding the 
survey questions/instructions.
    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.
    Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, 725-17th Street NW, Washington, DC 
20503, Attention: BTS Desk Officer.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on 3rd of October, 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. 2023-22268 Filed 10-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P