An EVSE equity analysis framework considering differential job access

Abstract The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has been a large part of climate policy. EV adoption relies on the charging stations that provide EVs with energy. The placement of public charging stations impacts their utility, and unadvised planning could risk furthering the transportation infrastructure divide between rural and urban areas. This study provides an unconventional perspective on the problem. It is argued that the provision of public charging stations, or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), should be considered in the context of the differential ability to substitute private vehicle travel by other modes or land use reforms. We first examine the travel patterns of urban and rural areas, sequentially excluding non-private vehicle then shopping journeys replaceable by online purchases, to establish the varied need for charging stations and measure the equity of the existing public charging station sites. The use of job access as a measure of rurality reveals both the longer daily mileage traveled by people in rural areas and the influence of job accessibility as a proxy for amenity access. An equity framework is formulated based on the classic Lorenz curve, with an extension to jointly consider job and EVSE access via a Cobb-Douglas-style production function. We characterize the state of equity in this production function for the United States as of 2024.