Understanding the Benefits of EVs for Urban Mobility and Air Quality

Mobility and air quality (AQ) are widely considered to be key indicators in defining the quality of life in cities. Unfortunately for many urbanites, these two indicators are among the most difficult for policymakers to improve. Among urban planners, even major cities with phenomenal financial and cultural import are often considered less successful if they have dirty air and constant traffic gridlock.

For decades, managing the growth of cities in a way that would avoid traffic and air quality issues was a monumental task. Moving factories outside of urban centres and disincentivising vehicle ownership by providing mass transit are effective means to address both issues but are often difficult to execute in already-established cities.

Moreover, as urbanites become more prosperous, their desire to own a car tends to go up, and limiting this through government control can be problematic in most democratic free market societies. However, trends in electric vehicles (EVs) promise to give cities more room to breathe, in a very literal sense.

What EVs Mean for Cities

The global market for EVs has exploded over the past several years, largely thanks to the cost benefits and growing convenience of EV ownership. In the UK, EV chargepoints have also become more affordable. For instance, a typical Tesla Wall Connector installation starts at just around £492, with the connector and installation fees included. 

This combination of growing popularity, reduced costs, and expanding EV infrastructure is expected to produce benefits for both urban mobility and air quality in beleaguered cities. This is especially remarkable given that EV sales are not necessarily driven by a concern for social good but rather, by the practicality and cost-efficiency of electric vehicles. Let’s look a some of the expected mobility and AQ benefits that cities will derive from ongoing trends in EVs:

Reduced Pollutant Emissions

Pure EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions, significantly reducing their contributions to air pollution in urban areas. The “tailpipe emissions” distinction is important, as EVs do produce some harmful pollutants in the course of their manufacturing process. But as global commitments to green energy increase, the pollutant emissions from EV manufacturing and shipping should decrease as well, providing more benefits to AQ and public health.

Improvements in AQ are likely to result in immediate health benefits for urban residents. In London alone, 9,400 deaths per year are directly attributed to poor air quality, costing taxpayers up to £3.7 billion annually in health service costs. Given that, even a modest shift to EVs within cities is likely to contribute directly to thousands of lives saved.

Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions

A wider adoption of EVs may contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that trap heat and air pollution in cities. However, this is only possible if certain conditions are met. First, the manufacturing and logistics chains that bring EVs to the market must transition to reduced carbon energy sources. Next, the EVs themselves need to last longer than their carbon break-even point, which is typically around 21,725 km. 

Fortunately, there is significant progress being made on both fronts, with many world governments now committing to emissions reductions in manufacturing and EVs now lasting far longer than their predecessors. Continued global cooperation should help reduce GHGs and contribute to more livable cities.

Noise Reduction

The influence of noise on the habitability of urban spaces is often overlooked. The noisier a city is, the less likely that its inhabitants will want to venture outside. This reluctance to be outside can cause a drop in less-polluting modes of transportation (i.e., walking and cycling), while also incentivising car ownership, thereby inducing ever-higher urban noise levels.

However, the wider introduction of EVs may break this vicious cycle. EVs produce far less noise than petrol-powered vehicles, particularly at the lower speeds required within densely populated areas. The reduced noise levels may encourage more urbanites to take cleaner modes of transport, reducing the baseline demand for vehicles in general. In this way, EV adoption may indirectly cause more people to choose to bike and to walk to their destinations.

Promotion of Sustainable Urban Mobility

Over the long-term, EVs can be part of a wider selection of sustainable urban mobility solutions, providing convenient access to areas disconnected from mass transit that are too far to walk or to bike. If electric vehicles become the norm for ridesharing services, the congestion issue associated with vehicles of all kinds can even be partially resolved, resulting in further improvements to urban mobility through other modes like buses.

The Electrified Journey to Cleaner, Quieter Cities

The embrace of electric mobility, while largely driven by convenience and economics, is likely to create profoundly positive changes in the livability of cities the world over. In the UK, the transportation and AQ improvements created by the continued shift towards EVs are likely to result in steady, incremental advancements in urban livability over the next few decades. Thanks to the growing popularity of EVs, British cities are likely to be quieter, have cleaner air, and have more people enjoying the outdoors long before Britain hits its self-imposed 2050 deadline for carbon neutrality.