Public acceptability of electric vehicle chargepoint installation in neighbourhoods: A psychometric approach to assess resident reaction

The installation of on-street Electric Vehicle chargepoints is starting to appear in residential locations to cater for households that lack access to off-street parking. Introducing changes to the public realm in neighbourhoods can be a sensitive issue, with residents pushing back on installations that they feel are unneeded or are a bad fit for the streetscape. To avoid such circumstances, an understanding of resident reaction to infrastructure installation would be useful when developing consultation strategies. This paper provides insights into this issue by examining public acceptability towards the deployment of Electric Vehicle chargepoints in residential settings. A psychometric approach is taken through the specification of a Structural Equation Model which explains acceptability to infrastructure by a multi-layered set of antecedent constructs. Results of the analysis indicate that perceptions of trust in the industry responsible for the chargepoints as well as awareness of environmental sustainability problems underpin public acceptability. In addition, reinforcing the positive issues surrounding the infrastructure in terms of the benefits that will materialise, the effectiveness of Electric Vehicle adoption at alleviating climate change, and the positive emotions associated with chargepoint availability are likely to boost acceptability.