The California Department of Transportation has a plan to establish a transportation policy to improve traffic conditions and reduce gas emissions by 2050. Due to the increasing population and demand in California the Department of Transportation needs to improve and make the movement of freight much more efficient. The efficiency will be increased by increasing bridge and road safety, parking availability, weigh in stations, and alternative fueling stations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought more attention to this ongoing issue because emissions were reduced as many residents were off the road due to the 25% unemployment rate, remote work, and virtual practices that have become very common. The traffic levels had reduced due to the pandemic but traffic has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels and it is expected to worsen.
As demands and the population increase in California the amount of trucks on the road are expected to increase by 40% by 2050. This effort to increase emissions will also be a gateway for electric trucks to get on the road and be a major shift in the trucking industry.