Plugging-in Caledonia: location and utilisation of public electric vehicle chargers in Scotland

Electrification of private cars is a key mechanism for reducing transport emissions and achieving net zero. Simultaneously, development of public electric vehicle (EV) charging networks is essential for an equitable transition to EVs. This paper develops and analyses an extensive, nationally representative dataset of EV charging sessions taking place on a key public charging network in Scotland between 2022 and 2024 to gain insights that can support development of public charging infrastructure. Data was collated from 2,786 chargers and analysed to establish a detailed characterisation of the network’s organisation and utilisation. The network considered is government-owned and was fundamental to the Scottish rollout of public chargers. Key insights from analysis of the developed dataset include quantified disparities between urban and rural charger use-time behaviours, with the most rural areas tending to have charging activity more concentrated towards the middle of the day; analysis of the numbers of deployed chargers in areas of greater/lesser deprivation; utilisation disparities between charger technologies, with 35% of slower chargers being used at least once daily compared to 86% of rapid/ultra-rapid chargers; and demonstration that charging tariff introductions resulted in a 51.3% average decrease in sessions. Implications of findings for policy and practice are also discussed.