Charging while driving lanes: A boon to electric vehicle owners or a disruption to traffic flow

Large-scale adoption of commercial and personal Electric Vehicles (EVs) is expected to significantly affect traffic flow dynamics, emissions, and energy consumption in the transportation sector. Range anxiety and challenges associated with charging EVs are among the key issues that reduce the adoption rate of EVs and, in turn, limit their system-level impacts. A promising solution to address these challenges is the introduction of charging while driving (CWD) lanes, either by appropriating an existing lane or augmenting an EV reserved lane to the highway segment. Although technological advancements have made it possible to charge vehicles wirelessly while driving, introducing such lanes to the traffic stream can potentially disturb traffic flow and result in new congestion patterns. This study puts forward a microscopic simulation framework to investigate the effects of CWD lanes on traffic flow dynamics at the segment level. It takes into account different market penetration rates (MPRs) of both personal and commercial EVs in the forms of Automated Vehicles (AVs) and Electric drayage Trucks (ETs), respectively. Different policies have been investigated to suggest the best design for CWD lanes. Results indicate that introducing CWD lanes can decrease overall traffic throughput and increase congestion due to additional lane-changing maneuvers by electric vehicles aiming to utilize the CWD lane. Although higher MPRs of EVs help stabilize traffic flow and reduce the number of shockwaves, speed disruption tends to increase in the CWD lane and propagate to adjacent lanes. Emission analyses show significant reductions (up to 63 %) in pollution levels with increasing MPRs of personal and commercial EVs. Our analysis shows that while CWD lanes can facilitate the adoption of EVs, they can deteriorate traffic efficiency, emphasizing the importance of careful design and policy considerations.