Uber has struck a first-of-its-kind deal with Revel, which is based in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, to use the company’s charging stations at discounted rates. The move comes as the for-hire vehicle industry works to accommodate the recent surge of electric taxis on New York City streets.
According to the terms of the deal, Uber will guarantee at least a minimum use of Revel’s 54 public fast chargers in Bedford-Stuyvesant, South Williamsburg and Long Island City. Uber said it will also share fleet data with Revel to help inform the company’s buildout of charging sites.
Currently, Revel is working to triple its charging infrastructure across Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. The company said it aims to raise $200 million to build out the network of chargers and expects to be profitable by year’s end.
“Together, Revel and Uber are showing how to accelerate EV infrastructure in the hardest to build places: dense cities,” Frank Reig, chief executive of Revel, said in a statement. “With Uber’s guarantee of demand at our sites, we’ll be able to expand our public charging network faster, first here in New York and soon in other big rideshare markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and more.”
Revel’s chargers can top off a battery in about 20 minutes. Crucially, the chargers feature equipment that make them accessible to any model of electric vehicle no matter the manufacturer — though Tesla dominates the field. By the end of 2022, Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3s made up the vast majority of the city’s licensed electric taxis, according to a TLC report on the electric for-hire vehicle sector.
Revel’s existing fast-charging stations in Brooklyn and Queens are publicly accessible, so private electric vehicle owners and cab drivers can pay to juice up alongside Revel’s own fleet of powder-blue Tesla Model Ys.
For Uber, the partnership also helps the company work toward the mandates of the city’s Green Rides Initiative, which requires New York’s fleet of roughly 81,000 Uber and Lyft vehicles to convert to zero-emission or wheelchair-accessible rides by 2030.
Charger demand for New York rideshare drivers has spiked since October when the Taxi and Limousine Commission lifted a cap on new licenses restricted to electric vehicles. As of early February, the city had more than 9,500 licensed electric Uber, Lyft and other fleet four-wheelers — roughly 7,800 of which, or 82%, were issued in the last year, TLC data shows.
If Uber doesn’t hit a certain use threshold at Revel’s chargers, the company will be on the hook to compensate Revel for kilowatt hours missed; the partnership is currently set to run at least through 2025, according to Revel spokesman Robert Familiar.
Uber and Revel would not disclose the guaranteed usage or the rate at which Revel would be compensated for missed kilowatt hours. To incentivize use, Uber drivers will receive a discount of 25% at Revel stations through Uber Pro, Uber’s driver rewards program, according to the companies.
The deal and Revel’s subsequent expansion of its charging network will also help increase options in neighborhoods where there’s currently a dearth of charging facilities, such as in Queens and the Bronx.
“Tackling urban charging deserts is an important part of building an all-electric future,” Andrew Macdonald, Uber’s senior vice president of mobility and business operations, said in a statement. “Uber has proudly served underserved communities with rides and earning opportunities and we are thrilled to continue that progress in partnership with Revel to ensure the next wave of charging infrastructure in New York City serves EV drivers and city residents alike.”
Caroline Spivack , 2024-03-07 20:34:52
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