Geocoding Addresses

As there was no available database of existing EV charging stations in Metro Vancouver, the addresses and number of charging ports of each station was manually inputted into a excel spreadsheet. These locations were then geocoded using an address locator created with the DMTI road data in ArcGIS. The sensitivity for geocoding was lowered to 30 to maximize matches. As the newest road data is for 2014, a small proportion of addresses which could have been created after 2014 could not be matched using the address locator. For these addresses, they were geocoded using the BC Government’s Geocoder Address List Editor. The xy coordinates obtained from the address list editor was then consolidated to the ArcGIS geocoded addresses table.

Maximum feasible distance between charging stations

The maximum feasible distance between charging stations is the maximum distance between two charging stations to ensure that electric vehicles will be able to recharge and not run out of energy on the road. This distance was calculated using vehicle ranges from available electric vehicles in BC.

Following the method in the Transportation Infrastructure & Public Space Lab’s 2012 “Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Infrastructure: Deployment Staging and Sitting “report, the maximum feasible distance between charging stations is ((EPA distance/MPGe distance)*EPA distance of vehicle with shortest range). This means the maximum distance is 49.17km. As EV’s can only drive 75% of their maximum range in the winter, the distance then is 36.88km.

Screen capture of the spreadsheet showing charging times and range of EV’s available in BC.

Understanding the data

Two maps were created to find patterns in the existing locations of EV charging stations.

Map showing the number of EV ports at each charging station in relation to population density in Metro Vancouver

Map showing the number of EV ports at each charging station in relation to land use in Metro Vancouver

From these two maps, it can be seen that EV charging stations are predominately located in commercial land, and that they are found in areas of high population density. The number of ports at charging stations does not appear to have any relation to population density.