How And Why Rural Towns Should Prepare For EV Charging

As electric vehicles become more entrenched, towns are to prepare to accommodate them. While larger and more populated towns have the advantage of containing more people who are often younger and more tech-savvy, rural towns may have to make more drastic adjustments to support EVs.

In this article, we will look at why it is vital for rural towns to prepare for EV charging and how they can do so.

Why should rural towns prepare for EV charging?

Even though larger towns are more often in the news, rural towns are a significant portion of the country’s population. They account for 25 percent of the inhabitants of the US. This means rural towns cannot be overlooked in the attempt to shift to a non-zero form of mobility.

If rural towns are not carried along in the electrification drive, the victory over carbon-emitting transportation will be incomplete.

This is why rural towns cannot be overlooked in the EV discussion, especially when it comes to expanding the national EV charging infrastructure.

In addition, installing EV stations in rural towns can boost the local economy and motivate the residents to switch to electric vehicles.

How rural towns can prepare for EV charging

Many rural towns are tourist attractions that draw even city residents that drive down. Eventually, many of these tourists will be visiting in electric cars. These host towns can appeal to EV drivers by installing public chargers around the places of interest of hotels.

Similarly, many rural towns are along popular routes. Motorists with EVs will stop over to find places to charge in the towns. This can prove to be a boost to the town’s commerce because stopping to charge means the travelers will spend some time with the possibility of patronizing local businesses like eateries or supply stores.

These businesses can list their charging stations on platforms that help drivers locate chargers.

Town authorities can help out by offering loans or incentives for installing charging stations. However, this works best when there is coordination with the state and federal governments.

Since many rural towns do not have a robust electrical infrastructure due to low energy demand, power authorities will have to beef up this aspect so that the number of charging stations the towns can support won’t be limited. Moreover, careful planning is required to avoid haphazard effort.