FLO is installing curbside chargers throughout New York City as part of a collaboration with the city Department of Transportation and Consolidated Edison (known as Con Edison). The city has set strong sustainability goals, and aims to propel EV adoption as a means to reduce greenhouse emissions and improve air quality.
One of the collaboration’s missions is to have curbside chargers readily available across the entire city. The project aims to fill the gap between the existing charging infrastructure, and a future where chargepoints are ubiquitous.
Curbside charging is about more than just giving New Yorkers more places to refill their batteries, but can also support local businesses: EV drivers tend to spend money at the location where their EVs are charging. To keep the cycle going, FLO knows drivers will expect top-notch charging experiences. “Each charging station is a promise”, said Martin Briere, Chief Network and Experience Officer at FLO, “Chargers must be always readily available when needed, and that’s why we are committed to delivering industry-leading uptime rates, where our goal is to achieve a 98% uptime.”
FLO installed its first electric vehicle curbside charging station in New York City in June 2021. This summer, the company installed its 100th charger, located in Staten Island, making curbside charging available in all 5 boroughs.
Placing EV chargers across the city was intentional because FLO believes curbside charging is a crucial element in making electric vehicles accessible to everyone, everywhere. A bank of high-speed chargers near Times Square might look good, but making curbside charging stations a common sight where people actually park their cars will help ease the transition towards EVs.
NYC’s curbside chargers are popular with today’s EV drivers, too. During the first year, NYC's curbside chargers boasted a usage rate of 47 percent on average over the first 10 months after launch. FLO has over 65,000 charging stations in its network. Other numbers help explain what’s driving demand. When the first station was installed, there were 15,000 electric vehicles registered in New York City but only 1,400 Level 2 stations and just under 125 fast-charging plugs, most of which were in Manhattan parking garages.
The FLO curbside chargers can provide an 80-percent charge in around four to eight hours, depending on the vehicle, costing $2.50 an hour between 6 am and 9 pm, and dropping to $1.00 per hour overnight. Here’s where EV owners win out. Going electric means you get to skip pricey trips to the pump, which is one of the biggest draws for making the switch. A 2018 study by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute found that the average cost to fuel an electric car was $485 a year, compared to $1,117 for a gas-powered vehicle. A 2020 Consumer Reports study similarly showed that EV drivers tend to spend about 60 percent less each year on fuel costs compared to drivers of gas-powered cars.
Gallery: FLO 100th Curbside Charger in New York City
Curbside charging is about more than giving New York’s EV drivers more places to refill their batteries. FLO’s targeted charging station uptime is 97% or better and is calculated on a 12-month rolling basis. That uptime target has been achieved continuously across several years of reporting and is not subject to any service level agreement or guarantee.
FLO is committed to help NYC go electric, and spreading its message in an exciting way. In March, FLO became the official electric vehicle charging partner of the New York City Football Club, the brand’s first major sports partnership in the United States. Tying sports with EVs and the future, FLO and NYCFC brought the 2021 MLS Cup trophy to an event at the Brooklyn Children's Museum earlier this summer, where one of the company’s chargers is located.
“We stand for making the transition to electric mobility a huge win for EV drivers and, ultimately, for the planet,” said FLO’s Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Thorson, when the sponsorship was announced. “Like NYCFC did just months ago, we are keen to bring more victories to New Yorkers and to start right here demonstrating the convenience and feasibility of embracing electric vehicles.”
