Abstract

Electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) are essential for promoting cleaner transportation by facilitating electric vehicle recharging. This study explores their broader economic impact on nearby businesses, analyzing data from over 4000 EVCS and 140,000 business establishments in California. Results show that installing one EVCS boosts annual spending at a nearby establishment by 1.4% ($1,478) in 2019 and 0.8% ($404) from January 2021 to June 2023. The effect is more pronounced when a point of interest (POI) is within 100 meters of an EVCS, with spending increasing by 2.7% in 2019 and 3.2% from January 2021 to June 2023 for that POI. Public EVCS tend to attract higher-income, exploratory visitors, and local residents. Moreover, they notably enhance businesses in underprivileged areas, defined as disadvantaged and/or low-income areas designated by both California and Justice40, indicating the importance of expanding EVCS in such communities. This study highlights EVCS as drivers of local economic growth and stresses the economic benefits of multi-host EVCS setups.

This study quantifies the economic impacts of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) on nearby businesses in California, finding that installing one EVCS boosts annual spending at a nearby business by 1.4% ($1,478) in 2019 and 0.8% ($404) from January 2021 to June 2023.

Details

Title
Effects of electric vehicle charging stations on the economic vitality of local businesses
Author
Zheng, Yunhan 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Keith, David R. 2 ; Wang, Shenhao 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Diao, Mi 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zhao, Jinhua 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cambridge, USA (GRID:grid.116068.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2341 2786); Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Centre (SMART), Singapore, Singapore (GRID:grid.429485.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 0442 4521) 
 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Business School, Carlton, Australia (GRID:grid.1008.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2179 088X) 
 University of Florida, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Gainesville, USA (GRID:grid.15276.37) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8091) 
 Tongji University, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shanghai, China (GRID:grid.24516.34) (ISNI:0000 0001 2370 4535) 
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Cambridge, USA (GRID:grid.116068.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 2341 2786) 
Pages
7437
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3100709757
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.