Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Urban Mobility Performance: Evidence from a Tier-II City in India

This study examines how electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure influences urban mobility performance in a Tier-II city, using Nizamabad in India as a case study.A structured survey was carried out with EV users-including two-wheeler riders and three-wheeler operators-to explore charging behaviour, accessibility to charging facilities, and the effects on daily travel patterns.The results show that limited charging availability, uneven station distribution, and long waiting times often disrupt trip continuity and reduce operational efficiency.These issues are especially pronounced among commercial operators, who depend on frequent charging to maintain daily service cycles.For them, infrastructure gaps directly affect service reliability and last-mile connectivity.In contrast, users with home charging facilities face far fewer disruptions, pointing to uneven impacts across different user groups.The findings indicate that charging infrastructure functions as a fundamental element of the urban transport system rather than an auxiliary service.A more deliberate alignment of charging stations with activity hubs and transport nodes would improve accessibility and support more stable mobility patterns.These observations underline the importance of coordinated infrastructure planning in facilitating the ongoing transition to electric mobility in emerging urban contexts.