The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is much more than any infrastructure deal that’s come before it. It combines not only the physical aspects of infrastructure, but also high-tech modern components such as improving internet service and creating infrastructure for electric vehicles. 

The deal aims to tackle climate change by incentivizing the use of electric vehicles and making public transportation more eco-friendly.  While the deal is making strides in the right direction, it needs to consist of more than the production of electric car charging stations and physical infrastructure renovations to make a difference. 

Consumers have many concerns about purchasing electric cars, including price, a lack of charging stations, range, reliability and overall battery life. While the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal resolves one issue by facilitating more charging stations, it is not enough to increase sales significantly. Spending a hefty $7.5 billion to encourage consumers to switch to electric cars would be beneficial if it also tackled other consumer concerns. The main issue that the government should try to resolve — alongside the lack of charging stations and infrastructure — is making electric vehicles more affordable and finding methods to provide cheaper in-house charging stations. 

One way to combat high electric vehicle prices is to subsidize batteries or used car trade-in programs. About 70% of electric or hybrid car owners make an annual income of over $75,000, indicating that the government needs to figure out ways to lessen the cost so that electric cars are more accessible to people of all income levels. If the majority of the population cannot afford electric vehicles, adding charging stations and other infrastructure will not make a big difference. 

Overall, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is heading in the right direction and is expanding its scope beyond traditional physical infrastructure. However, there will not be a significant shift in carbon emissions due to prevailing concerns about electric vehicles. If the deal is reworked and reevaluated to address other consumer concerns, the movement toward electric vehicles will be more successful in the long-run.

Daamiya Mir is a senior at New York University. She is studying Politics with a minor in Psychology and Child and Adolescent Mental Studies on the Pre-Law track. She was a writer for the infrastructure policy team at ONC.

Sources:

“Fact Sheet: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal.” The White House, The United States Government, 6 Nov. 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/06/fact-sheet-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-deal/. 

Loveday, Steven. “Here's Precisely Why People Avoid Electric Cars.” InsideEVs, 25 Aug. 2019, https://insideevs.com/news/366349/top-reasons-people-avoid-evs/. 

“2017 Hybrid/EV Survey Results.” CarMax, 18 July 2017, https://www.carmax.com/articles/hybrid-electric-2017-survey-results.