New 1st-in-Nation Electrical Automobile Charging Report Reveals Excessive Utilization & Reliability at Curbside Plugs Throughout NYC

NYC DOT releases nation’s first analysis report on curbside electrical car charging, inspecting first 18 months of Metropolis’s pilot program

Almost 50,000 charging classes recorded, with utilization charges rising steadily over course of pilot

Charging infrastructure has been remarkably dependable, with charger uptime at 99.9%

NEW YORK — New York Metropolis Division of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez in the present day introduced new knowledge on town’s curbside Degree 2 electrical car (EV) charging pilot, exhibiting excessive utilization and reliability at plugs throughout town in what’s the nation’s first-ever analysis report on such a program. The report exhibits the variety of charging classes grew steadily month to month as new chargers have been introduced into service, greater than doubling between January 2021 and December 2022, and that the 100 chargers put in below the pilot remained remarkably resilient, remaining in operation 99.9% of the time. This system’s utilization and reliability has exceeded the company’s expectations and the info collected within the report will assist inform insurance policies across the placement of future curbside charging infrastructure as a part of the administration’s PlaNYC dedication to speed up the adoption of EVs.

“This primary-in-the-nation examine exhibits that the demand for electrical autos is actual, and the transition is feasible,” mentioned New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams. “Our administration is assembly New Yorkers the place they’re with electrical car chargers, as a result of the local weather disaster is pressing and the time for motion is now. With this and different steps outlined in our ‘Getting Sustainability Achieved’ plan, we’re delivering a greener, cleaner, extra affluent future for our youngsters and grandchildren.”

“The information is evident: New Yorkers love curbside Degree 2 EV charging and our equitable distribution of infrastructure introduced promising utilization throughout communities. Our chargers have confirmed to be dependable and resilient, with strong uptake throughout town in neighborhoods like Jackson Heights, Norwood, and Sundown Park,” mentioned NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “As we work to scale back New Yorkers’ automotive dependency, we should be sure that the remaining car journeys are taken with the bottom influence to the surroundings as doable.”

“Offering charging choices which are handy and accessible to various neighborhoods is important to the transition to electrical autos,” mentioned Raghu Sudhakara, vice chairman of Distributed Useful resource Integration at Con Edison. “We’re happy that the info produced by this venture will assist optimize future efforts to make the transition from inner combustion engines, simpler, sooner, and more economical.”

Picture credit score: FLO.com

“With an operational uptime of greater than 99% and a presence in all 5 boroughs, these FLO curbside chargers can be found when and the place NYC EV drivers want them,” mentioned Louis Tremblay, president and CEO of FLO. “FLO is proud that our curbside chargers are bringing entry to EV charging to increasingly more drivers and we sit up for advancing our work with our companions on the NYC DOT and Con Edison as NYC’s transition to a cleaner transportation future continues.”

Through the pilot analysis interval, between July 2021 and December 2022, DOT recorded 49,250 charging classes amongst 7,200 distinctive customers at its curbside Degree 2 chargers. These chargers racked up 179,270 whole charging hours, with the median session size lasting simply over three hours. System uptime, or the share of time chargers remained in operation, was good or near-perfect each month, at 99.9%.

The utilization charge is outlined as the proportion of time the charger was plugged into an EV. DOT recorded an general utilization charge of 34% in December 2022, greater than doubling from the roughly 14% utilization charge in January of that yr.

Trying ahead

Curbside Degree 2 charging is one piece of NYC’s broader EV technique, articulated in PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Achieved. This technique additionally consists of investing and partnering to make sure that each New Yorker lives inside 2.5 miles of an EV quick charger, creating shared electrical truck charging depots, transitioning taxis and for-hire autos to electrical autos, supporting a requirement for personal parking garages and much to make EV charging accessible, and learning and piloting the East Coast’s first low-emission zone centered on environmental justice by incentives and different strategies.

DOT is putting in quick chargers and Degree 2 chargers in its amenities to make charging accessible to extra New Yorkers. DOT and NYPA not too long ago introduced a joint settlement to create as much as 13 electrical car fast-charging hubs at municipal parking amenities throughout town. The settlement builds on town’s dedication to put in 1,100 Degree 2 chargers in DOT’s publicly-accessible parking amenities citywide.

As DOT continues its curbside charging pilot, it would work with Con Edison and FLO to additional assess how this system influences buying selections and utilization patterns.

Lowering greenhouse gasoline emissions

Within the face of the mounting local weather disaster, New York Metropolis is dedicated to turning into carbon impartial by 2050. After buildings, the transportation sector is town’s second-largest supply of greenhouse gasoline (GHG) emissions, accounting for 28% of emissions, largely stemming from motor autos. NYC DOT is pursuing a multi-pronged technique to scale back the carbon footprint of the transportation sector, together with by dramatically rising the proportion of journeys which are made by transit, biking, and strolling. For New Yorkers missing entry to mass transit or unable to journey by these modes, DOT is encouraging the adoption of electrical autos.

One of many main hurdles to advancing EV possession in New York Metropolis is the provision of charging. Whereas the personal sector will make most investments into EVs and associated infrastructure, the Metropolis can play an necessary function in addressing market gaps, fairness, and the electrification of excessive mileage fleets like taxis and FHVs.

How the curbside Degree 2 charging pilot works

DOT is collectively administering a four-year pilot with Con Edison and FLO, which paid for and put in the 100 publicly accessible, custom-designed curbside Degree 2 chargers. FLO operates the charging community and maintains the chargers. Every curbside unit has two chargers, permitting two autos to cost concurrently, and options retractable cables with a counterweight mechanism that stops the cables from obstructing the sidewalk when chargers usually are not in use.

As part of the pilot, 50 public charging models have been put in, offering 100 cost factors. Customers can provoke charging classes utilizing FLO’s cell app (which is accessible on the Apple App Retailer and Google Play Retailer) or an RFID card. The price to cost is $2.50 an hour throughout peak hours (6am-9pm) and $1.00 an hour in a single day. Drivers pay these prices so long as the car is plugged into the charger. This fee construction incentivizes drivers to cost in a single day as a way to cut back the pressure on the native electrical grid. These models have been put in and are operated by Con Edison.

“We all know all too nicely that Queens has felt the detrimental influence of local weather change, however there may be hope for a greater future due to environmentally-friendly applied sciences like EVs,” mentioned Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “We want do to all we will to help using EVs, so I’m thrilled town’s Degree 2 curbside EV charging pilot program has been so profitable up to now. By considering boldly and growing modern options like EVs, we will obtain carbon neutrality and safe a brighter and more healthy tomorrow.”

“To scale back the area’s reliance on fuel-burning automobiles and vehicles and meet New York State and Metropolis’s bold local weather objectives, it’s important that we improve our electrical charging infrastructure,” mentioned Tiffany-Ann Taylor, vice chairman, transportation, Regional Plan Affiliation. “We’re happy to see NYC DOT has run a profitable curbside charging pilot program and sit up for supporting a future program enlargement. A quick, dependable charging course of is required to make sure town’s useful curb house stays as versatile as extra residents use electrical autos within the metropolis and area.”

“The NYC DOT’s launch of the nation’s first-ever report on degree 2 curbside EV charging is proof optimistic that New York Metropolis’s strategy to electrifying the transportation sector – constant and well-informed progress, cutting-edge expertise and, most necessary, elevated entry – is working,” mentioned Alia Soomro, deputy director of New York Metropolis Coverage for the New York League of Conservation Voters. “We applaud Mayor Adams and NYC DOT Commissioner Rodriguez for his or her dedication to sustainable transportation and for doing the arduous work so different cities could comply with go well with.”

Itselectric public EV charging curbside. Picture courtesy of itselectric.

Courtesy of NYC DOT.