Integrating En Route and Home Proximity in EV Charging Accessibility: A Spatial Analysis in the Washington Metropolitan Area

TL;DR

This paper presents a spatial analysis method that incorporates daily travel patterns to evaluate EV charging accessibility more accurately across urban and peripheral areas, revealing spatial inequalities.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive accessibility measure that integrates en route and home proximity, improving upon traditional destination-based assessments.

Findings

Conventional methods overestimate urban accessibility and underestimate peripheral zones.

Identifies clusters of high and low accessibility, highlighting spatial inequalities.

Provides a framework for equitable EV infrastructure planning.

Abstract

This study evaluates the accessibility of public EV charging stations in the Washington metropolitan area using a comprehensive measure that accounts for both destination-based and en route charging opportunities. By incorporating the full spectrum of daily travel patterns into the accessibility evaluation, our methodology offers a more realistic measure of charging opportunities than destination-based methods that prioritize proximity to residential locations. Results from spatial autocorrelation analysis indicate that conventional accessibility assessments often overestimate the availability of infrastructure in central urban areas and underestimate it in peripheral commuting zones, potentially leading to misallocated resources. By highlighting significant clusters of high-access and low-access areas, our approach identifies spatial inequalities in infrastructure distribution and provides insights into areas requiring targeted interventions. This study underscores the importance of incorporating daily mobility patterns into urban planning to ensure equitable access to EV charging infrastructure and suggests a framework that other regions could adopt to enhance sustainable transportation networks and support equitable urban development.