The only time I need the running boards is when entering or leaving the cab of the truck or I am driving down the road where they protect the sides of the truck from debris coming up with the tires and getting tossed at the truck. Retracting the runing boards while the truck is parked...
A critcal problem with ICE vehicles is air pollution and it has gotten so bad with the dirty diesel cars that cheated the emissions testing that the only fix is to introduce zero emission vehicle in cities. Places like London and Los Angeles have air that is unhealthy to breathe.
In the USA...