NEW YORK – Con Edison and the New York City Housing Authority will place chargers and storage for e-bikes and e-scooters at NYCHA developments to see how much riders like the concept.
The chargers and secure storage areas will be at four developments in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn under the demonstration project that Mayor Eric Adams announced today.
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The project will test whether the use of e-bikes and e-scooters would increase if New Yorkers had suitable charging and storage. Increasing the use of these devices would reduce reliance on fossil fuel-powered transportation, meaning cleaner air and safer streets.
The partners also want to determine whether providing safe, secure charging and storage outdoors would reduce indoor charging, which can be dangerous.
It’s also a test of a business model. Con Edison will gather information from the chargers to see how many unique riders use them, how long riders use the chargers and the times of day when riders charge. In addition, the company will determine the amount of carbon that would have been emitted if the users had driven passenger cars instead of their micromobility devices.
“As electric bikes and scooters grow in popularity, we want to explore ways to ensure that New Yorkers have access to safe, convenient charging and secure storage,” said Raghu Sudhakara, vice president, Distributed Resource Integration, for Con Edison. “Making micromobility safer and easier will be a plus for the many hard-working people who earn their living delivering food to our homes and businesses. Our demonstration project with NYCHA will provide us with information on how we can support these forms of transportation, which provide environmental benefits, convenience and enjoyment when used safely.”
“The safety of NYCHA residents is our chief priority and central to the work we do every day,” said NYCHA Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “We are pleased to partner with Con Edison on this pilot program, which will provide NYCHA residents with a safe outdoor charging and storage alternative, while supporting the growth of this sustainable mode of transportation.”
The first chargers and storage areas will be at these NYCHA developments: Queensbridge North and South in Queens, De Hostos in Manhattan, and Van Dyke I in Brooklyn. The parties hope to begin the demonstration project by the end of this year.
Con Edison has posted a request for information, a step toward finding a vendor to provide and operate the chargers once they are installed. Con Edison and the chosen vendor will visit the NYCHA developments and determine how many chargers to place at each site.
The goal is to provide chargers that will accommodate all e-bikes and e-scooters, regardless of the manufacturer.
Along with environmental benefits, micromobility devices contribute to urban quality of life in other ways. They are quiet and reduce traffic congestion.
Electric micromobility devices are an affordable alternative to cars for low-income New Yorkers, many of whom have jobs delivering food or other goods to customers throughout the city. But food delivery app companies usually do not provide workers with transportation devices.
That has resulted in many workers using their own devices to make deliveries to New Yorkers and charging those devices in their apartments.
Con Edison and the chosen vendor will seek charging locations that are away from residences. The locations will be designated in accordance with Fire Department of New York guidelines for safety.
Con Edison urges anyone using a lithium ion battery to make sure the battery has been certified by UL or another safety testing lab, comply with FDNY safety rules, use only charging cables that the manufacturer recommends, and stop using a battery that is damaged. The FDNY offers these and other safety tips. The National Fire Protection Association also offers safety advice for lithium ion batteries.
