victorian electric vehicle trial mid-term report - Department of Transport

5.4.3 What do people thinkabout public charging?Widespread opinion both here andoverseas indicates that on account ofits role in addressing electric vehiclerange limitations, the availability ofpublic charging infrastructure is a keyissue for EV uptake. Even once peoplehave lived with the vehicles, opinionpersists on the value of public charginginfrastructure despite widespreadacceptance that home chargingaddresses most driver needs. The roleof public charging infrastructure as arange ‘insurance policy’ was furtherhighlighted by the identification ofmeasures to ensure the accessibility ofcharging outlets as being ofhigh priority.Surveys of stakeholders on the barriersto widespread/successful introductionof electric vehicles have routinelyidentified the availability of publiccharging infrastructure as beinga key issue for EV market development:• The 2,200 applicants forparticipation in the householdvehicle roll-out rated the lackof recharge infrastructure 4.2out of 5 (std dev 0.8) in termsof significance as a barrier tosuccessful EV introduction forVictoria (DOT 2012)• Fleet participants and attendeesat the fleet workshops all ratedcharging infrastructure availabilityas a key issue for EV uptake (referto Section 4.3.4)• A survey of 53 attendees at theDecember 2012 EV Conferencein Melbourne rated the lack ofrecharge infrastructure4.1 out of 5 (std dev 1.0) interms of significance as abarrier to successful EVintroduction for Victoria.These results correlate well withfindings from overseas, where non-EVowners in particular consider the lackof public charging infrastructure to bea key barrier for EV adoption (Gopaland Thawrani 2012).Public charging outlets have beencommissioned into service graduallyover the life of the trial such that20 locations were available inthe greater Melbourne area byJanuary 2013. For the majority oftrial participants, this has meantthat charging locations have onlyoccasionally been available at theirintended destination. Nevertheless,the trial household participantsurvey results are representativeof people with a minimum ofsix weeks experience of life withan electric vehicle.Issue for considerationAverage score(out of 5)Std devFines for non-EV users who park in EV-specific locations 4.5 1.0Promote EV usage with high-profile locations and/or free charging 4.4 0.9Availability of charging points similar to that of petrol stations / bowsers 4.2 1.1Provision of a booking facility that allows drivers to reserve their charging point before arrival 4.0 1.1Ensure the safety of other road users (for example pedestrians, cyclists) 3.8 1.3User-pays approach where charging costs reflect energy use, parking and equipment costs 3.4 1.0Preferential treatment for EV drivers on account of their contribution to the 'public good' 3.3 1.3Appease the concerns of local stakeholders in nearby businesses 3.1 1.1Discourage car use in highly-populated areas 2.9 1.3Table 16. Results from a survey of trial household participants on their opinions of the issues that should be taken into accountin the provision of publicly-accessible EV charging points; survey interval was around six weeks into their EV experience(n = 76, marks out of 5 where 5 = very important and 1 = very unimportant).