  Remote communities in Australia face unique mobility challenges that stand to
be further complicated by the transition from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)
vehicles to Electric Vehicles (EVs). EVs offer a range of advantages that
include lower maintenance requirements and independence from costly, dangerous
and polluting petroleum imports that have long been burdensome for remote
communities. Yet the adoption of electric vehicles in Australia has been slow
by international standards, and what policy strategies do exist tend to focus
on incentivizing uptake among urban residents with the means to afford new
technologies, potentially leaving remote communities in the 'too hard basket'.
In this study we assess the feasibility of EVs for a sample of communities in
remote Australia using Geographic Information System analysis of travel
distances between communities and service hub towns utilizing present-day EV
specifications and charging technologies. We show that while EV travel is often
not currently feasible for trips to large service hub towns using low-range
vehicles, over 99% of communities and residents considered would be able to
travel to their nearest small service hub town with existing long-range EVs.
This finding suggests that while the barriers to the electrification of
transport in remote communities are significant, they are not insurmountable
and are deserving of consideration in national and state policy developments in
the deployment of charging infrastructure.
