Electric vehicle (EV) sales are on the rise, as plug-in hybrid and battery electric cars become more affordable and reasonable for lower-income people. One key to this transition is also making the fuel that powers them more accessible – electric charging stations and other infrastructure must be affordable, available and in close proximity to where they are most needed.
If a transition to fossil-free alternatives for transportation is to help reach climate goals, it must be implemented in a manner that does not exacerbate existing inequalities, in terms of accessibility to services, as well as personal and household mobility costs. Here, the authors use Sweden as an example to introduce three dimensions that are linked to equitable charging infrastructure deployment, with a focus on private chargers: data transparency, local accessibility and opportunities for demand flexibility.
Using these three dimensions, we present an overarching analysis of charger subsidy schemes at the national level and local level. Our analysis shows that private chargers (including at-home and at-work charging) appear in higher density in Swedish urban areas with higher incomes; however, car density is much higher in other parts of the country, where private charging access is still low.
Based on our analysis, we make specific recommendations for data collection and for developing indicators for monitoring access to private charging infrastructure and its relationship to income inequalities at the most local level. These measures will bring us closer to broader infrastructure deployment, and as a result, EV expansion will occur more quickly on the path to fossil-free transport.
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