The Forest Service Electric Vehicle Pilot Program testing and evaluation will occur on three Eastern Region national forests: the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, the Huron-Manistee National Forest in Michigan, and the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.

While significant research has been conducted on the perceived user experience of electric vehicles on the consumer side, relatively little is known about the barriers to uptake of electric vehicles in a work or commercial setting. The current project will assess both objective and subjective impacts of electric vehicles as Forest Service personnel conduct their duties over a twelve-month period.

Employees will utilize the vehicles during day-to-day field operations and fill out weekly surveys describing how the vehicles were used, weather conditions they were used in, road types such as gravel, snow, sand and mud, any maintenance issues, overall usefulness for the work being done, and employees’ perceptions.