Spatial refueling patterns of alternative-fuel and gasoline vehicle drivers in Los Angeles

• GIS is used to measure trip length, travel time, detour, and distance from home in Los Angeles.
• CNG drivers refuel farther from home, with fuller tanks, and more often mid-route.
• CNG drivers refuel more on work trips and detour 5–6 min from shortest paths.

In this study, we survey about 50 consumers at each of five compressed natural gas stations in the greater Los Angeles region, and at five nearby gasoline stations as a control group. We surveyed drivers at the stations while they refueled, and asked them for their previous and next stops, the type of activities they engaged in before and after refueling, where they live, and other questions about themselves, their vehicles, and why they refueled where they did. Using geographic information systems, we calculated trade areas for each station, distance from home, and the degree to which they deviated from their shortest paths to refuel. Results confirm the willingness and/or necessity of early adopters of natural gas vehicles to refuel farther from home and more frequently in the middle of a trip, and detour farther off their least travel-time routes, than gasoline drivers. In particular, natural gas drivers show a willingness to deviate up to 6 min from their routes, and also refuel more on work-based trips and less on home-anchored trips than gasoline drivers.