Summary
- Revel opened NYC’s first 24/7 electric vehicle fast-charging site at Pier 36 in the Lower East Side
- The site features 10 320-kw DC fast-chargers, claiming to offer the fastest charging experience in the city
- The site will be primarily used by ridesharing drivers, including from Revel and Uber
- Revel aims to expand its NYC charging network to 300 chargers by the end of 2025
- Utilization of Revel’s charging sites has increased due to NYC’s Green Rides initiative and Uber’s goal of all-electric rides by 2030
Article
Revel recently opened New York City’s first electric vehicle fast-charging site that is available 24/7. Located at Pier 36 in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the site features 10 320-kw DC fast-chargers from Kempower. This brings Revel’s total number of fast chargers in NYC to 64. While Revel claims the 320-kw chargers offer the fastest charging experience in the city, a site opened by Gravity earlier this year claims to provide up to 500 kw of charging power.
The Pier 36 charging site is expected to primarily serve ridesharing drivers, including those from Revel’s own service and Uber. Revel and Uber have a partnership that offers Uber drivers a 25% discount at Revel chargers, and Uber guarantees a minimum utilization rate at existing and future Revel sites. Revel has transitioned from electric mopeds to rideshare and is now focusing on charging. They plan to expand their NYC charging network to 300 chargers by the end of 2025, including locations in Queens and at LaGuardia Airport.
Utilization of Revel’s charging sites has increased tenfold in the last year due to New York City’s Green Rides initiative, which aims to make the city’s rideshare fleet fully electric by 2030. Uber also aims to have all-electric rides in operation by that year. The city’s largest parking operator recently announced plans to equip 5,000 parking spots with Level 2 charging, which will likely benefit residents’ private cars more than rideshare vehicles. The increased availability of chargers could help make the taxi fleet in NYC more environmentally friendly.
Historically, New York City has had electric taxis, but the adoption of EVs has been slow. With the taxi of tomorrow program in the past decade prioritizing non-electric vehicles, the city has been slow to embrace electric transportation. The addition of more public fast chargers could help pave the way for greener transportation options in the city, including the iconic yellow cabs. The growing network of charging infrastructure in NYC could be a key step in making electric vehicles more mainstream in one of the most densely populated cities in the United States.
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