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Cost Sensitivity and Charging Choices of Plug-in Electric Vehicle Drivers – A Stated Preference Study - Public charging infrastructure is increasingly essential for a successful transition to zero emissions transportation. Public charging is needed for occasional charging, for households without home charging, and improve the convenience of using BEVs, particularly for long-distance travel. Understanding BEV owners' preferences for different types of public chargers is crucial to informing the development of public DC Fast Charging, including by understanding what charger attributes people prefer. This study explores the charging behaviors and preference for public DC fast charging among BEV owners on long-distance trips, utilizing Stated Preference choice experiment data from a survey of 1,102 PEV owners across California. Using the Apollo package, we evaluated the utility functions for charging choices, which helped us quantify the trade-offs drivers are willing to make concerning charging cost, charging time, detour time, wait time, and additional amenities. We also included nonlinear elasticities in the utility function to test the impact of income and BEV range on charging choices. This analysis reveals that for each 100 miles of charging and average income, drivers are willing to pay $0.29 more for a 1-minute reduction of charging time, $0.5 more for 1-minute reduction on detour time, $1.05 more for no chance of wait, $0.38 more for 1-minute reduction on waiting time to charge, $2.56 more to charge at a location with restrooms, $5.6 more to charge at a location with restrooms, coffee shops, and outdoor areas when the total charging time exceeds 9 minutes. The result of nonlinear elasticities shows that BEV drivers who own a BEV with a longer driving range and have a higher income are willing to pay a higher more for shorter charging times. Overall, the results highlight attributes of DC fast charging stations that may encourage more users to utilize them. One novel aspect of this study is that we show that BEV drivers have preferences for amenities (e.g. coffee shops, convenience stores, restrooms) at charging locations. These amenities could increase utilization of DC fast chargers and provide additional sources of revenue for charging operators.
