Public E-Bike Charging Pilot Has Been Highly Successful Over Its First Five Months

NYC DOT Commissioner Rodriguez charging a lithium-ion battery at a pilot charging location in Cooper Square, Manhattan.

Results Show Strong Participation Levels Amongst Registered Delivery Workers, With Over 8,000 Battery Swaps Made and Nearly 1,000 On-Site E-Bike Charges Given at the Five Pilot Locations Since March

More Than 50% of Users Participating in Focus Groups Indicated They No Longer Charge Batteries at Home

Delivery Workers Also Report Being Able To Make Additional Deliveries Thanks to Battery Swapping and Charging Available in Public

New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced that the first five months of the agency’s public e-bike charging pilot have been highly successful, with robust participation and positive feedback from participating delivery workers. Launched this spring, select delivery workers are participating in the pilot across five locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The pilot is part of an initiative to test the safe charging of lithium-ion batteries by delivery workers in regulated, public locations. It is a key component of the Adams administration’s ‘Charge Safe, Ride Safe’ initiative to combat lithium-ion battery fires. Findings from the pilot show that food delivery workers are enthusiastically participating and can now be more productive, and that access to these charging stations has resulted in a reduction, and some elimination, of home charging. In addition to enhanced safety for delivery workers and their neighbors, there have been no safety-related issues or 311 complaints at any of the pilot locations.

The 120 pilot participants represent an even divide of residents in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, with the large majority (83 percent) of them working exclusively in Manhattan. The results of an onboarding survey administered by NYC DOT found that 84 percent of pilot participants were previously charging their e-bike batteries at home. About half of the test users who attended recent focus groups indicated that they have stopped charging their batteries at home, while the rest of attending test users have significantly reduced at-home charging sessions.

As of late-July after five months into the six-month pilot, over 8,000 battery swaps were made at stations, and nearly 1,000 charging sessions were completed. Frequent users swapped batteries an average of eight to 14 times per week and utilized the direct-vehicle charging stations for an average of five to eight sessions per week.

In addition to the usage statistics of pilot participants, observations and data so far indicate that the e-bike battery charging availability has resulted in promising behavioral change in terms of home charging. In focus groups with participating food delivery workers, NYC DOT found:

• About half of the attending test users indicated that they have stopped charging their batteries at home and now use battery swapping technology.
• For those who still charge batteries at home, they are now doing so less frequently than they did before.
• Concerns over fire safety are driving program participation. Users feel safer with the new public charging options.
• Users feel they can be more productive because they no longer need to carry an extra battery, no longer need to take breaks for charging, or are able to travel longer distances.

NYC DOT developed the pilot through the agency’s DOT Innovation Studio, a research and development innovation partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Newlab, the startup venture platform based in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard. The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) is also a key partner in the pilot.

A final report on the pilot program will be published following its conclusion later this year. Lessons learned from the pilot will inform future investment in micromobility charging infrastructure.

Three companies participate in the pilot – Swobbee, Swiftmile, and Popwheels – and combinations of the companies’ equipment can be found at each of the five locations selected for the pilot: Cooper Square, Essex Market, and Plaza De Las Americas in Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn Army Terminal and Willoughby Street in Brooklyn. These five locations were selected because they are located in high-profile and heavy trafficked areas with multiple establishments offering deliveries and near an abundance of delivery customers.