The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is looking to install public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its complexes to generate revenue and make it easier for taxi and for-hire vehicle (FHV) drivers to juice up their EVs. In July, the NYCHA began accepting proposals to develop a network of public EV charging stations on parking lots the agency owns at more than 100 housing developments. The agency hasn’t settled on a business model yet but said it’s open to potentially leasing parking spots.
Adding the EV charging stations would help generate revenue for the agency, which has an estimated $78.3 billion repair backlog, and leverage public land to expand the city’s network of 3,300 EV charging stations. The majority of the city’s taxi, Uber and Lyft drivers live in Brooklyn and Queens, near or in the city’s public housing complexes, said TLC spokesman Jason Kersten.
“I believe the only way we’re going to get a good system in place to solve the chicken and egg problem of EVs and chargers is to get the city and the parking lots it owns opened up through the private sector,” said Matthew Daus, transportation technology chair at The City University of New York. “Planning this out is how we get the chargers where they’re most needed, where people live.”
Source: Crain’s New York Business
