Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Location and Usage of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in the United States

Abstract

Switching to electric vehicles (EVs) has increased rapidly over recent years. This paradigm change provides an important pillar in the United States transport sector to reach sustainability goals. EVs rely on a network of charging locations to operate. This study analyses the spatial distribution, accessibility and usage patterns of the public EV infrastructure in the US. First, using a negative binomial regression model, the influence of socio-economic and other factors on the abundance of EV charging locations in a state is investigated. Second, analysis of the network’s use and of service areas generated around charging locations provides insight into the accessibility of these stations to populations living in urban and rural areas. Third, the study compares publicly available datasets on the EV charging infrastructure provided by different companies in the Miami urbanized area, and lastly, it analyses real-time data from the SemaConnect charging network. Results indicate increased access of residents to the EV charging infrastructure over the years. Economic activity, highway density and political preference were statistically associated with the number of charging stations. Charging behaviour was found to follow the patterns of a regular workday, indicating that EV owners rely primarily on the public infrastructure as opposed to charging their vehicles only at home.