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How urban environment shapes EV charging experience in Travis County, Texas
Ahyoung Chang1, Seung Gyu Baik1, Junfeng Jiao1
1Urban Information Lab, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America.
Plos One
|June 2, 2026
Summary
Urban electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) user experience is shaped by the surrounding environment, not just technical performance. Factors like walkability and green spaces significantly boost satisfaction, guiding better urban planning for sustainable mobility.
Area of Science:
- Urban planning and sustainable mobility
- Human-computer interaction in public infrastructure
- Artificial intelligence for geospatial analysis
Background:
- Electric vehicle charging stations (EVCSs) are expanding in urban areas, necessitating an understanding of user experience.
- Current EVCS design often prioritizes technical functionality over user comfort and integration with the urban fabric.
- Assessing user perception is crucial for developing effective and user-friendly charging infrastructure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of urban environmental factors on user sentiment towards EVCS.
- To integrate AI sentiment analysis with spatial modeling for a comprehensive understanding of EVCS perception.
- To provide actionable insights for location-sensitive urban planning to enhance EVCS usability and sustainable mobility adoption.
Main Methods:
- AI-driven sentiment analysis was applied to over 4,000 user reviews from Travis County, Texas.
- Three large language models classified user sentiment across key categories: charging operation, accessibility, and parking.
- Random Forest regression was used to identify significant predictors of user sentiment within the urban context.
Main Results:
- Environmental factors such as walkability, greenery, openness, and nearby amenities strongly correlate with positive EVCS user sentiment.
- Operational issues were more prevalent in peripheral areas, while accessibility and parking problems were concentrated in dense commercial zones.
- EVCS usability is significantly influenced by the surrounding built environment's contextual qualities, beyond mere technical performance.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights the critical role of urban design in shaping the user experience of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
- A scalable framework for real-time monitoring of EVCS user experiences is proposed.
- Findings offer data-driven recommendations for urban planners to optimize EVCS placement and design, fostering user well-being and sustainable transportation.
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