Exploring the influencing factors of public electric vehicle charger usage in Great Britain

Electric vehicle adoption in the UK has reached a bottleneck due to the limited availability of public chargers. Understanding the usage patterns of existing public chargers and the factors associated with them is necessary for planning future charging infrastructure. Using charger availability data from 4566 public EV chargers in Great Britain, collected at 15-min intervals between December 6, 2023, and March 31, 2024, we analysed usage patterns and associated factors in three case study regions: Greater London, Greater Manchester, and the Central Belt of Scotland. Spatial regression models were applied to explore relationships between public charger usage rates and various contextual factors across space and time. Our findings show significant regional differences in public charger usage patterns. In Greater London, the higher prevalence of flats is associated with higher public charger usage rates, particularly for nighttime charging near residential flats. Fast charger usage is also high in this region, which may reflect the demand for quick turnaround times in the region. In Greater Manchester, public charger usage rates are higher in areas densely populated with flats, whereas those with higher densities of houses or terraced housing are associated with lower usage rates. In the Central Belt of Scotland, charger usage rates are particularly high near motorways. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of developing region-specific strategies for charger deployment to support a sustainable and efficient charging network. • A spatial regression model explores how charger features and context affect usage. • London shows higher public charger usage near flats for nighttime charging. • Manchester shows lower public charger use when house and terrace density increase. • Central Belt of Scotland shows higher charger usage along motorways.