Inequitable Access to EV Charging Infrastructure

University Transportation Centers Program2022PDFManuscriptKhan, Hafiz Anwar UllahPrice, SaraAvraam, CharalamposDvorkin, YuryNew York University. Tandon School of EngineeringConnected Cities for Smart Mobility toward Accessible and Resilient Transportation Center (C2SMART)United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramNew York University. Tandon School of EngineeringConnected Cities for Smart Mobility toward Accessible and Resilient Transportation Center (C2SMART)United StatesElectric vehiclesInfrastructureEquity (Justice)Correlation analysisHypothesis testing69A3551747124Access to and affordability of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure are the two prominent barriers for EV adoption. While major efforts are underway in the United States to roll-out public EV charging infrastructure, persistent social disparities in EV adoption call for interventions. In this paper, we analyze the existing EV charging infrastructure across New York City (NYC) to identify such socio-demographic and transportation features that correlate with the current distribution of EV charging stations. Our results demonstrate that population density is not correlated with the density of EV chargers, hindering New York\u2019s EV adoption and decarbonization goals. On the contrary, the distribution of EV charging stations is heavily skewed against low\u2013income, Black\u2013identifying, and disinvested neighborhoods in NYC, however, positively correlated to presence of highways in a zip code. The results underscore the need for policy frameworks that incorporate equity and justice in the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure.131