EV Explorer 2.0: An Online Vehicle Cost Calculator for Gig Drivers Considering Going Electric

This paper describes the design and development of EV Explorer 2.0, an online vehicle cost calculator (VCC). EV Explorer 2.0 was designed to support electric vehicle adoption among both the general population of vehicle buyers and gig drivers, such as those providing ridehailing or food delivery services. It includes several features important for the gig driver use case that are not available in other VCCs: (1) estimation of total cost of ownership (TCO) for used vehicles (other tools focus on new cars); (2) inclusion of gig-driving income estimates for comparison cars; and (3) a more precise accounting of the costs of public charging. EV Explorer 2.0 also includes important features found in other VCCs, such as electric vehicle incentive estimation, and innovative features, such as animations conveying the social and environmental impacts of electric versus gas vehicles. The tool was informed by user testing with gig drivers who had expressed interest in electric vehicles.