The need for curbside electric vehicle charging is increasing in dense cities because many urban drivers park on the street when they don’t have access to private home garages. Rideshare and taxi drivers want access to neighborhood charging so they don’t have to waste time traveling to distant charging stations.
New York City officials have selected the Brooklyn-based company it’s electric to expand the city’s existing EV charging network from the current number of 88 charging points to 700. The focus will be on more than 10 neighborhoods with high concentrations of taxi and rideshare drivers as well as limited off-street parking. Places on the list include Washington Heights, Forest Hills, and the Upper West Side.
The deal with the city entails a $55.3 million contract for installing the chargers and a $4.9 million contract for operating them. Each charging station will have at least two charging posts with two charging points each.
The goal is to make EV charging more affordable and convenient, thereby helping to support the transition from fossil-fueled powered vehicles to electric vehicles. The transportation department announced in August its plan to expand the PlugNYC program as part of the city’s efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Installing the chargers does have potential drawbacks, as it can make it more difficult to make other changes to the street, such as putting in bike lanes, bus lanes, or other curbside interventions. For that reason, dead-end streets could be ideal locations that would not get in the way of other curbside functions.
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References:
Brooklyn firm to add over 600 EV charging points to NYC curbside spots
