About me
Locating Public Charging Infrastructure, and EV Adoption in Urban Neighborhoods with Limited At-Home Parking - Most public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are privately owned, and cluster near destinations or along highways. These trends, coupled with the convenience of at-home charging, has led to a scarcity of charging infrastructure in urban residential areas where potential users may not have a dedicated place to park a vehicle and charge. Ironically, urban drivers may be more inclined to use EVs compared to other drivers because of shorter commutes and lower range anxiety, but without a place to change at home, many forego adoption. In this ongoing project, I ask: Does the lack of public charging stations discourage urban residents from adopting EVs? And to what extent does introduction of public charging stations near where urban drivers live enable them to switch to EVs? Previous research suggests that charging station accessibility relates positively with EV adoption, and that inconvenient charging locations are a major challenge for widespread EV use. The current research builds upon these findings by focusing on urban areas where at-home parking is limited. I analyze via regression state-maintained vehicle registration data over national charging station data from the Department of Energy to assess the proportional adoption of EVs compared to internal combustion vehicles across levels of access to charging stations, and with regards to if vehicles are registered in urban or less central areas. Preliminary work looking at New York City confirms that there are few public charging locations near where private vehicles are registered, and suggests that residential proximity to public level 2 (L2) chargers facilitates higher rates of EV adoption when controlling for wealth.
