Public Charging: Not As Important For Electric Cars As People Think?

Ask any electric-car advocate, and they'll likely list availability of public charging as one of the key requirements to getting more people interested in plug-in vehicles.

The availability of public charging stations reduces range anxiety and gives drivers greater trip flexibility.

That would logically seem to make electric cars more desirable to consumers.

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Yet a new study claims that's not the case.

There is no correlation between charging infrastructure and increased consumer interest in electric cars, researchers from Canada's Simon Fraser University (via ChargedEVs) say.

The relationship between awareness of available public charging and electric-car demand is "weak or nonexistent," claims Professor Jonn Axsen, leader of the study.

Published in the journal Transportation Research Part D, the study is based on a poll of 1,739 households in Canada.

Respondents were asked about their awareness of local charging infrastructure, and their interest in purchasing a plug-in car.

Respondents appeared aware of charging infrastructure in their area.

Simon Fraser University's home province of British Columbia has worked to install public charging stations--about 500 were in place when the poll was conducted in 2013.