The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $760,868 (federal funds) to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority together with SCOPE Lab at Vanderbilt University, the University of Houston, the City of Chattanooga Department of Transportation, the Enterprise Center, East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition, and Green Commuter, for an innovative research effort to benefit Chattanooga and other cities. This project will enable the development and evaluation of tools to promote energy efficiency within a mobility-as-a-service transportation model in a mid-sized city. In addition to energy efficiencies within each specific mode of operation such as electric bus and electric car, this project will identify network mobility and energy efficiencies associated with movement throughout the continuum of transportation choice present within Chattanooga. In addition, the project can supplement DOE national labs efforts by providing more data on electric bus operations under various driving conditions for model validation.
“CARTA has more than 25-years’ experience of successfully operating all-electric vehicles,” said Lisa Maragnano, CARTA executive director. “This partnership will assist CARTA in providing communities with safe, efficient and environmentally sustainable transportation for the future,” she continued.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the selection of 42 projects totaling $80 million to support advanced vehicle technologies that can enable more affordable mobility, strengthen domestic energy security, reduce our dependence on foreign sources of critical materials, and enhance U.S. economic growth. This work supports DOE’s goal to invest in early-stage research of transportation technologies that can give families and businesses greater choice in how they meet their mobility needs.
Technology integration projects such as CARTA’s research will bring together key stakeholders in partnerships to provide data on the impact of mobility services and solutions through real-world testing, evaluation, assessment, and validation. The data, analysis, and insights from this work will fill critical information gaps to inform mobility research needs as well as near- and long-term transportation planning that maximizes energy efficiency and affordability.
"This is a great opportunity for our community," said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. "It leverages the innovative spirit of Chattanooga and promotes sustainable mobility solutions that can be deployed anywhere. "