Perceived accessibility of electric vehicle charging stations: contributing factors and conceptual framework

As electric vehicle (EV) adoption grows, accessibility to electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) becomes an important metric in EVCS planning. While calculated accessibility metrics of EVCS capture spatial accessibility, they fail to account for individuals’ subjective evaluations of their own accessibility. Perceived accessibility addresses these limitations by incorporating individual perceptions, subjective experiences, and personal characteristics into accessibility measurement. This study administered a questionnaire between June and October 2023 in Indiana, collecting 199 post-processed responses from experienced EV users (those who had leased and/or owned an EV) along with their self-reported evaluations of multiple indicators representing EVCS perceived accessibility. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we identified two exogenous latent constructs (factors) that constitute EVCS perceived accessibility: perceived convenience and perceived availability. Building on this structure, we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess how calculated accessibility, travel behavior, individual characteristics, charging behavior, and charging attitudes influence these factors. Results revealed that calculated accessibility has a relatively weaker effect on improving perceived convenience and no influence on perceived availability. Mixed charger users (using both Level 2 and Level 3) reported the highest perceived convenience, while Tesla users reported significantly higher perceived convenience and availability compared to other users. Finally, we developed a conceptual framework to examine perceived accessibility of EVCS and its relationships with other influencing factors. The framework integrates empirical evidence from the present study and prior literature, along with theoretically motivated but as yet unverified relationships, thereby providing a strong foundation for future research.