A recent study by Loh and Noland has investigated the accessibility of public charging stations across different income groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. The research utilized a microsimulation model to estimate how accessible charging stations are under various battery range scenarios, considering that vehicles owned by different income groups may have different battery capacities.
The analysis was conducted using data from 1,442 traffic analysis zones within the Bay Area. Contrary to popular belief that access to public charging stations is unequal among different income groups, the study found minimal disparity. When assuming a full fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) and evaluating the current level of charging infrastructure, it was noted that all income groups experience similarly low success rates for accessing charging stations based on 2035 trip-level data.
This conclusion underscores the necessity for more robust development of charging infrastructure. To reach a 95% success rate in terms of EV charging accessibility, the study provides estimates on how many additional charging ports would be needed in the region.
“Equal charging for all: Are there income-based disparities in public charging stations?”
