why-municipalities-should-invest-in-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-today

Why Municipalities Should Invest in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, Today

In 2015, Kelsey Juliana and 20 other youth plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the US government, demanding the government take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, Seattle became the first US city to ban plastic straws and Starbucks plans to phase them out by 2020. Earlier this year, the European Parliament approved a law banning a wide range of single-use plastic items, such as straws, cotton buds, and cutlery, by 2021. Plastic is on the verge of becoming Voldermort, but that doesn’t mean environmentalists don’t have their work cut out for them, and it only makes sense for cars to be next. In this case, the solution is quite simple: transferring all cars on the road to electric vehicles. With car data, charging stations and infrastructure can be set up easily.

Electric Vehicle Advantages

Electric vehicles are more environmental-friendly than gas vehicles. They emit no direct emissions and less life-cycle emissions than gasoline cars. They reduce sound pollution because they are quieter, and as electricity generation becomes more decarbonized, they will reduce the pollution that accompanies their charging and running. These factors will significantly improve the quality of life and health of any person that resides in urban areas, and especially of drivers and passengers who spend long hours on the road.

It might sound like drivers need encouragement to purchase electric vehicles, but that isn’t the case. According to the Bloomberg NEF Electric Vehicle Outlook 2019, it’s estimated that sales of EVs will reach 10 million in 2025 and 28 million in 2030 (approximately a third of vehicles sold).

The environment may or may not be the main focus of car owners looking to buy EVs. However, these vehicles offer more advantages: they are less expensive, require less maintenance, and save time spent on going to the gas station to fill up. In short, EV advantages are plentiful, both short-term and long-term.

Investment in Electric Vehicle Charging Points Benefits City Residents

Currently, EV infrastructure in cities and out of them still does not support full-time usage of these vehicles, much less so if all drivers and public transportation transferred their gasoline cars to electric ones. Nowadays, even if all drivers were committed to switching to EVs, they couldn’t maintain their lifestyle due to a lack of charging facilities. Range anxiety is real, and this situation requires municipal and national action and investment.

Cities and municipalities that will invest in EV charging points, will encourage and enable the use of EVs, making their city more attractive for their residents. They will be investing in the health and quality of life of their citizens and will provide a healthy environment for children and for future generations. These compelling surroundings will also save inhabitants’ money, which can be used for recreational activities in the city, which will also turn into taxes that benefit the city.

Optimize EV Charging Station Location with Car Data

Automotive data can help local governments, traffic infrastructure planners and charging station providers identify the best locations for placing charging stations. Car data attributes like location, timestamp, state of charge (SOC), ignition on/off, odometer, distance, model, temperature and battery capacity enable analyzing driving patterns that show clusters of drivers according to different times.

With this vehicle data, municipalities can plan the network of EV charging stations, to ensure enough stations exist where there is heavy traffic. Automotive data for planning EV charging station spread doesn’t have to be limited to EVs. Vehicle data from gasoline cars can provide almost the same metrics.

In addition, over time, as more EVs enter the traffic flow, continued analysis of car data can show where along the routes batteries drain out and indicate the need for more stations. Finally, optimized charging station distribution reduces the risk of energy overload on the grid. If all car owners charge at night in the same neighborhood, for example, spread out charging stations could encourage day-tome charging in different locations.

Unlike plastics and cutlery, we don’t need a lawsuit to make it clear that we need to act now to create a better, healthier life for ourselves. Electric vehicles are a huge step in that direction and municipalities can help, today.

Otonomo’s car data attributes can assist municipalities to identify optimized locations for EV charging stations. Contact us to sample data and learn more.

To try out simulated connected car data, try out our demo.

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