zero-emission city. Indeed, we’re making major environmental improvements across the city, from increasing our renewable energy capacity to reforming building emission requirements. But one area has lagged behind despite ample technological progress: our streets.
The disconnect is charging access, especially to fast, public charging where drivers can pull in and fuel up in minutes, not hours. There are currently only 71 public fast charging stalls across 15 active sites, and just four have more than three stalls. There are legitimate concerns over charging confidence as a result, because if even one stall becomes unavailable, wait times can spike. The low capacity also means these sites are neither prepared for nor encouraging more EV adoption.
Drivers, whether they use their vehicles for work or personal use, won’t transition to EVs unless they can reliably and conveniently charge them. Without home garages to plug in like most everywhere else, New York City needs an immediate overhaul of its public fast charging access so everyone has the choice to go electric.