New York City Plans 700 New Curbside EV Chargers

In an effort to improve the infrastructure of electric vehicles in the city, there will be 700 Level 2 charging stations installed in curbside locations across all five boroughs of New York within the next three years.

The installation of the chargers has been awarded to Brooklyn-based startup It’s Electric. The project aims to provide a convenient option for people living in the city who cannot afford to park their EVs in a garage due to lack of space.

Expanding Access to Curbside Charging

However, easy access to chargers continues to pose a problem for many owners of EVs living in urban areas. While those with personal garages have the option of installing their own charging systems, others relying on street parking have no other choice than public charging stations.

Curbside Level 2 chargers offer a solution for those interested in charging their vehicles near their homes or parking lots. The practice has already been implemented in various European cities but is still not widespread across major US cities.

Currently, New York City already has 88 curbside chargers operating as a result of its previous pilot program. As per reports from the city’s Department of Transportation, such chargers are already heavily utilized – EVs occupying the chargers around 70% of the time, with some individual chargers having an occupancy rate as high as 99%.

At the same time, the chargers provided power about 85% of the time they were occupied.

Focus on Rideshare and Taxi Drivers

The newly installed charging stations will prove to be a blessing for the substantial numbers of rideshare and taxi drivers in New York City. It is worth noting that the authorities have selected neighborhoods with a high density of Uber, Lyft, and taxi drivers for this project.

For those who spend many hours driving on the road, it would make no sense to drive far to special fast-charging stations when they can recharge near their homes and preferred places of parking.

This initiative ties in with the plan of New York City to turn all rideshare cars into electric ones by 2030.

A Different Approach to Charger Design

It’s Electric’s charging devices work in contrast to most traditional public charging stations. The devices feature simple stainless steel poles without the cables attached permanently to them. The drivers have to rely on the cables supplied by the company.

Furthermore, the chargers do not have screens or credit card readers incorporated into them. This allows decreasing the size of the devices mounted to the street.

The company also took into account New York City’s guidelines for the public installations of equipment.

Using Existing Building Infrastructure

One more aspect that characterizes the planned charging infrastructure system is the way of electricity connection. It is stated by It’s Electric that the chargers can get the electric energy supply from the neighboring apartment complexes, thus simplifying and lowering the costs of building the new infrastructure.

The chargers will be distributed all around the five boroughs; however, there will not be more than two chargers on one block. The hardware will be produced in Queens.

Such a scheme may help spread the charging infrastructure all around the neighborhoods, instead of making huge charging hubs.

Supporting New York’s EV Transition

This development has been made as cities look for ways of accommodating the use of electric cars despite the weaknesses associated with conventional charging stations. Fast charging stations offer quick charging but are not necessarily easily accessible to people living in cities who normally have parking spaces on streets.

Level 2 curbside charging has a totally different role. It offers slow charging in case drivers would prefer their cars to stay parked for long hours.

For people in New York that don’t have access to private charging stations, the development of such infrastructure will offer them more choice of accessing charging services without having a specific place for parking the cars.

Conclusion

The plan by New York City to introduce 700 curbside electric vehicle chargers is a notable increase in the existing charging infrastructure for communities. By concentrating on neighborhoods that have a large number of street parkers and ride share drivers, the plan seeks to solve some of the difficulties that come with having electric vehicles in a highly populated city.

With an increasing number of electric vehicles in New York, the infrastructure for charging these vehicles will play a vital role. The success of the newly installed chargers will be based on various aspects including availability and efficiency.

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