2018 Conference

Individual Paper Presentation

The availability of real-time pricing with charge station locator apps has opened new possibilities to study digital platform innovation in the fast growing electric vehicles (EV) market. Here we present results of a large-scale workplace charging field experiment at corporate offices and manufacturing locations with a major U.S. automaker. We use regression discontinuity to analyze the effectiveness of nonlinear price policies for EV charging via a mobile app called Plugshare. Our dataset includes 51M charge station transaction records at 111 stations in corporate offices and manufacturing locations from 2014-2015. We test theoretical predictions about price setting in digital platforms and use market evidence to evaluate whether managers have an incentive to invest in digital EV infrastructure, even when charging services are offered for free or at a nominal cost to employees. We comment on the effectiveness of pricing strategies that aim to incentivize charging from peak to off-peak periods, while lowering transportation emissions by increasing electric vehicle miles travelled in daily  commutes.