Indy ranked among least friendly cities for electric vehicles

Cheryl V. Jackson, Indianapolis Star
·1 min read
5

There might be a good reason drivers of electric vehicles experience range anxiety around Indianapolis.

Indianapolis is among the worst U.S. cities when it comes to the availability of public charging stations, according to an April 2023 study by car subscription provider FINN.

The study lists Indy among the 10 most visited U.S. cities that are least EV-friendly, each having only a single public charging station per 100,000 visitors.

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Others on that list are:

  • San Antonio, Texas

  • Fort Worth, Texas

  • Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Raleigh, North Carolina

  • Jacksonville, Florida

  • Orlando, Florida

  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Las Vegas, Nevada

  • Nashville, Tennessee

On the upside for EV drivers though, battery capacity and range have greatly improved, from a median of 68 miles on a single charge in 2011 to 234 miles in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Electric vehicles are displayed before a news conference with White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about the American Jobs Plan and to highlight electric vehicles at Union Station near Capitol Hill on April 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Biden administration has proposed over $170 billion in spending to boost the production of zero-emission buses and cars and increase the number of EV charging stations.

That — along with concerns about the environment, a greater variety in models offered and the appeal of cost savings — has helped to drive EV sales, the bureau said.

About 22,000 EVs were on the road in 2011, compared to more than 2 million in 2021.

California cities took half of the spots on the list of 10 most EV-friendly cities, with Anaheim and San Jose placing first and second, with 12 and 10 charging stations per 100,000 visitors; San Francisco (eight stations per 100,000 visitors) in a tie for third; Los Angeles (seven stations ) in a tie for fifth and San Diego (four stations) in a tie for eighth.

The full research is available at finn.com.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter: @cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy ranked among least friendly cities for electric vehicles