Best Black Friday Car Deals For 2023
NYC's EV Revolution Is Riding On Uber And Lyft Drivers
On one Upper West Side side street, you can hear the quiet hum of electric vehicles almost all day and night.
Manhattan isn't known for its plentiful parking. But this street has something even rarer: two public spots reserved for EV charging. Often, vehicles linger for hours.
On a recent weekday, one licensed ride-hailing driver had been charging for more than 12 hours. Another EV sat for more than five hours at the neighboring plug. For the ride-hailing driver, that's 12 hours they didn't work. For other EV owners, it's one less charger to plug in to. A Tesla slowed as it drove by in hopes the spaces weren't occupied.
BIThis snapshot in time comes as New York City aims to convert almost its entire ride-hailing industry to EVs by 2030, with the exception of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Mayor Eric Adams' Green Rides Initiative affects the city's more than 84,000 Uber and Lyft drivers — among the largest markets in the world. It's an ambitious target, given that under 10% of rides were taken in an EV in March, according to city data.
The biggest hurdle is building enough public chargers, especially in such a densely packed city with an old power grid and lengthy bureaucratic delays. For Uber and Lyft drivers, time is money, so widely accessible charging is key to the EV switch. The majority live in NYC's outer boroughs, such as Queens, and park on the street, where chargers are sparse. A study by the US Department of Energy found that 1,000 fast chargers were needed for every 20,000 EV drivers on the road. Currently, there are fewer than 200 across NYC. Plus, building thousands of new chargers requires billions of dollars of investment.
City officials and ride-hailing companies told Business Insider that electrifying the sector could unlock a broader EV revolution because it could solve a crucial conundrum: Companies won't build charging stations if there aren't enough drivers, but drivers won't buy an EV if charging isn't widely accessible.
"This is the industry that's going to get this infrastructure off the ground because a ride-share driver is a great customer for a charging station," said Bobby Familiar, a spokesperson for Revel, an all-electric ride-hailing service that operates three public fast-charging stations in NYC. "They have to charge every single day that they do a shift. They want fast charging because every minute spent at the charger is time they could be on the road earning a fare."
Electrifying the ride-hailing industry also has big returns for the environment, Michael Replogle, a former deputy commissioner for policy at NYC's Department of Transportation, said.
"If you can electrify Ubers, Lyfts, and taxis that drive several hundred miles a day, it will really reduce the city's carbon footprint and clean up the air," he said.
Given the stakes, a lot has to go right in the coming years. The city has to strike a balance between the number of EV drivers and charging sites. Long wait times risk turning off drivers from making the switch, but if there isn't enough demand, the economics could fall apart for stations run by the government or private entities. Chargers also must be in neighborhoods with a history of underinvestment.
A mad dash for EV licensesThe transition is getting an early test this year now that thousands more ride-hailing drivers have licenses.
In October, the Taxi & Limousine Commission opened applications for this gig work for the first time in five years — but for EV drivers only. A cap had been in place since 2018 to stabilize drivers' wages and decrease traffic congestion.
The TLC approved about 8,400 EV licenses. That brought the total to more than 11,000, a huge jump compared with several years ago.
The program is on hold because of a lawsuit filed by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. It represents the yellow-cab industry, which isn't under the EV mandate but can voluntarily make the switch to certain models. The alliance argued that the market would become oversaturated.
TLC Commissioner David Do said many of those who applied were ride-hailing drivers already and the total number of drivers in NYC was still lower than pre-pandemic levels.
A lot of ride-hailing drivers are excited about the EV push because it's a pathway to owning their own car, rather than renting from fleet owners, according to Aeraj Qazi, the owner of Primetime Brokerage, which helps drivers through the TLC licensing process.
"Rentals are like handcuffs for drivers, so EVs provide an opportunity for drivers to own their own plates," Qazi said.
Weekly rental rates average between $450 and $600, several drivers told BI. That's more than a typical monthly car payment.
Qazi said he and other brokerages helped file thousands of EV applications before the court-ordered injunction took effect late last year.
"We didn't realize how crazy it would get. The charging infrastructure isn't there right now," Qazi said.
Guillermo Fondeur, an Uber driver who bought a Tesla in 2021, charges at home. He said the switch had saved him money on gas and maintenance, and he earns some perks from Uber, including an extra $1 on every ride.
But he's heard complaints from other EV owners about the lack of public charging infrastructure.
"It's very inconvenient to find chargers," Fondeur said. "There are one- to two-hour waits to plug in some places."
He added: "Drivers want to charge on the block where they live. The city could put chargers in the parking spaces. There's also a lot of parking lots."
NYC's most valuable assetToday, there are nearly 200 fast chargers in NYC and more than 1,900 Level 2 chargers. The Adams administration wants to grow the network this decade to 6,000 fast chargers and 40,000 Level 2 plugs.
"We need every space we can find," Do said.
In general, EVs can get up to 30 miles of range for every hour they're plugged in to a Level 2 charger. That makes them ideal for overnight street parking, or for several hours during the day while drivers run errands or go to work. Fast chargers, such as those in Tesla's Supercharger network, can add up to 200 miles of range in just 15 minutes, helping ease range anxiety among road trippers and ride-hailing drivers who need a quick refill but don't want to lose too much time.
Making progress in NYC requires coordination across the government, power utilities, and private companies. Do is part of a charging task force that brings those parties together.
The TLC is sharing data on where drivers live and where and how often trips happen to help inform where chargers should be. The utility Con Edison is identifying where enough power is already available for new chargers and expanded a statewide program that subsidizes the cost of bringing electricity to chargers to $585 million. The Department of Transportation is investing in some curbside charging and fast chargers in municipal parking lots.
The department's efforts build on a curbside-charging pilot with Con Edison and a Canadian company, Flo. It created 100 Level 2 plug-ins across all five boroughs, a spokesperson for the department said, and there are plans for hundreds more.
But those efforts alone won't spur enough development, Replogle, the former DOT official, said.
"It took us 3 ½ years to stand up that pilot," he said. "We recognized we would not be getting thousands of on-street Level 2 chargers by scaling up that model. It's going to take some competitive procurement with the private sector to make this happen."
There are barriers, Replogle added. There isn't a clear path for private charging companies and real-estate owners to get regulatory approval for installing curbside plugs.
"Street space is one of the most valuable assets the city owns," Replogle said. "There are 3 million parking spaces, and less than 250,000 of them are priced. So there are a fair number of spaces that can produce the kind of economic return for electrification to happen."
A DOT spokesperson said the department last year sent out a request for information from EV-charging companies, which will inform future partnerships.
Beyond curbside, there are hurdles for companies such as Revel that are building larger fast-charging stations with dozens of plugs. These sites often need electrical-power upgrades to connect to the grid, a lengthy process with Con Edison.
"We're approaching every charging station like it's a new high-rise building," Familiar said. "But the timeline for getting a charging station up and running is a lot different than a building. If we have power, we can get a site done within months, not years. The power-upgrade timeline does not match that."
Charging stations should go to the front of the line, he added.
A spokesperson for Con Edison said the utility was evolving its grid-planning process to prepare for large EV loads.
"When upgrades are needed at the customer property, we are working to reduce interconnection timelines at every step in the process from early customer engagement and education through improved work coordination and collaborating closely with municipalities on permitting," the spokesperson said.
The charging pipelineDespite the delays, Revel has a pipeline of 300 fast chargers over the next two years, Familiar said. That figure reflects active site leases in various phases of design and construction.
Revel owns a fleet of 500 vehicles and more than 50 plugs in NYC that are open to any model.
One of the new stations is set to be at LaGuardia Airport, one of the busiest areas for ride-hailing trips in the city. Installing 48 plugs would make it the largest fast-charging location at any airport nationwide. It's expected to open next year.
Revel in March also struck a deal with Uber that guaranteed its drivers would use at least 250 of Revel's plugs a certain amount of the time. If Uber doesn't meet the use threshold, it's financially liable. In exchange, Uber drivers will get up to a 25% discount when they charge.
The agreement could help Uber meet its own goal to have its drivers go fully electric this decade. So far, more than 6% of Uber's fleet in the US and Canada has zero emissions, and more than 17% of trips in NYC were in EVs last year. The company said it's spending $800 million by 2025 to encourage drivers to make the switch.
Josh Gold, Uber's senior director of public policy, said that after the TLC lifted its cap on EV licenses, he saw longer lines at Tesla's Superchargers. And for years, many of the platform's early EV adopters were going to Manhattan to charge, often in paywalled parking garages.
"That's not where our drivers live," he said. "So that's been a worry, but now we're seeing the charging infrastructure develop more."
Uber is sharing ride data with Revel so it can locate chargers in the most convenient places for drivers. Uber has a similar agreement with Tesla.
Lyft, for its part, said it's investing $80 million through 2025 on its EV push and working with charging companies including EVgo and Electrify America to offer discounts. Nearly 17% of NYC Lyft rides were in EVs last year.
The rising demand from the ride-hailing industry for EV charging could help buoy other startups. Itselectric is piloting some Level 2 curbside charging using excess power from buildings, which avoids the need for utility upgrades and therefore could speed up the build-out. In a parking garage in midtown Manhattan, Gravity in March opened what it says are the 24 fastest chargers in the country.
Almost everyone BI interviewed for this story acknowledged that the city's EV's ambitions were lofty.
There are some promising signs, however.
Do said that the Green Rides Initiative was two years ahead of schedule. By 2025, at least 15% of ride-hailing trips were supposed to be in zero-emissions or wheelchair-accessible vehicles. That threshold was crossed in January and ticked up even higher in March to 17%. That month, more than 2 million trips were taken in an EV — a fivefold increase compared with November.
Do said he wanted to boost the TLC's outreach to drivers so they could understand the perks of switching to an EV.
"There are so many more benefits to a green vehicle, not only for the future of our city but for kids who will breathe cleaner air, and it also might be a little cheaper," he said. "So we've laid the foundation, but now we need to convince many other drivers to convert."
Juliana Kaplan contributed to this article.
This article is part of "The Great Transition," a series covering the big changes across industries that are leading to a more sustainable future. For more climate-action news, visit Insider's One Planet hub.
Pre-order The New Juiced JetCurrent Pro E-bike At $300 Off
Headlining today's green deals is a special pre-order discount on Juiced Bikes' new JetCurrent Pro Foldable e-bike for $2,499. It is joined by Jackery's Earth Day sale that is taking up to 42% off the company's power stations, bundles, and accessories starting from $100, as well as a one-day sale on the WORX 12A TURBINE 600 CFM Electric Leaf Blower at $55. Plus, you'll also find all of the other day's best Green Deals below.
Head below for other New Green Deals we've found today and, of course, Electrek's best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.
Pre-order the new Juiced JetCurrent Pro e-bike at $300 off Juiced Bikes has launched its new JetCurrent Pro Foldable e-bike. You can read up on what's new in our initial announcement coverage, and here we'll cover the savings you'll receive on this all-new debut. The JetCurrent Pro e-bike is now available for pre-order at $2,499 shipped as a special launch promotion, down from its $2,799 MSRP. Jumping on this deal now gets you $300 in savings until it begins shipping in June, which is when we expect it to return to its MSRP as well. This is the first official discount on this new model as well as the new all-time low going forward. Below, we break down just how those savings stack up for your new commuting solution. The all-new JetCurrent Pro Foldable e-bike comes in four colorways (purple haze, indigo blue, desert tan, and black) and is equipped with a supercharged 1,200W NeoBlade Motor (2,000W peak) alongside a 52V battery that carries it up to 34 MPH for up to 70 miles on a single charge. It has five levels of pedal assistance that are monitored by joint torque and cadence sensors, as well as a throttle when you just want to cruise, and extra functions like an active cruise control that can be set at any speed below 20 MPH and a race track mode for the most aggressive settings where the e-bike does not electronically limit its speed. The JetCurrent Pro also comes with a variety of features that truly set this model apart from all the e-bikes that came before it. You'll find a powerful 1,050-lumen Shadowblaster headlight, front and rear turn signals, a brake light, knobby 4-inch tires with fenders over each, a rear cargo rack, 4-piston hydraulic brakes, a folding mirror, an "automotive-grade horn," and a backlit LCD display that gives you real-time performance data while also allowing you to customize its performance settings – plus it has a USB port to charge your devices as you ride. Its most noticeable feature, however, is being the first foldable e-bike among Juiced's lineup, making transport and storage far easier when it's not in use. Save up to 42% on Jackery power stations Jackery has launched an Earth Day sale that is taking up to 42% off a collection of the company's popular power stations, solar generator bundles, and accessories through April 25. A notable offer amongst the bunch is the Explorer 1500 Portable Power Station for $899 shipped, after using the on-page coupon code for $600 off. Normally fetching $1,499, this standalone model saw fewer discounts over the last year in comparison with its Pro model counterpart or any of its solar generator bundles, with the biggest of them being a fall to $899 for the first time in October. Today's deal comes in as a 40% markdown off the going rate that lands as a return to the all-time low. The Explorer 1500 comes equipped with a 1,534Wh battery capacity, and can dish out up to 1,800W of power to its seven ports: three AC ports, two USB-A ports, one USB-C port, and one car outlet. You can connect up to four 100W solar panels to recharge it from 0 to 100% in just 5 hours, or get a full battery in just 6 hours via a wall outlet. WORX 12A TURBINE 600 CFM Electric Leaf Blower now $55 in one-day sale Best Buy is offering the WORX 12A TURBINE 600 CFM Electric Leaf Blower for $54.99 shipped through the end of the day. Down from its usual $80 price tag, it saw its fair share of discounts over 2023, with the biggest being a drop to $55 in July – which was matched a month ago in a similar one-day sale and beaten out by the first discount of 2024 where it dropped to $50. Today's deal comes in as a repeat 31% markdown off the going rate and lands at the second-lowest price we have tracked – just $5 above the all-time low from January. This leaf blower provides 600 CFM of power, reaching up to 110 MPH of sweeping force in order to blow through heavy debris. It has two speed modes depending on what surface you're clearing: speed one covers pavements and tight corners with a slower CFM, and speed two ramps it to its max output for open spaces/lawns. This is a plug-in model, so you will have to worry about cord and extension cord lengths over battery runtime, but it does come with a 11.5-foot cable that attaches to the tool with a retainer to keep the cord plugged in, even when the line is snagged or tugged. Spring e-bike deals! Super73 RX Electric Motorbike: $2,999 (Reg. $3,695) Lynx All-Terrain e-bike: $2,999 (Reg. $3,999) Juiced's HyperScrambler 2: $1,999 (Reg. $3,499) Aventon Aventure.2 All-Terrain e-bike with free extra battery: $1,799 ($2,499 value) Aventon Abound Cargo e-bike with $372 in free accessories: $1,799 (Reg. $2,199) Heybike Brawn Fat-Tire e-bike: $1,449 (Reg. $1,800) Electric Bike Co. Model J e-bike: $1,299 (Reg. $1,499) Velotric Discover 1 e-bike: $1,099 (Reg. $1,599)
Other new Green Deals landing this week The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear. Save $650 on Juiced Bikes' RipCurrent Base fat-tire e-bike with 45-mile range for $1,049 low EcoSmart's ECO 36 240V electric tankless water heater falls 47% to new all-time $399 low ALLPOWERS Pet Day sale has power stations from $79, solar panels at $99, and bundles at up to $1,600 off Schwinn's regularly $1,500 Ingersoll and Ridgewood e-bikes start from $700 (New lows) Greenworks' 80V CrossoverZ electric zero-turn riding mower sees another $1,000 drop to $4,500 Sun Joe 24V IONMAX electric power cleaner tackles your vehicle's cleaning needs for $40 Jackery's Explorer 1000 Plus portable power station hits new $849 low (Reg. $1,199) ALLPOWERS' S200 portable power station with 4 ports and wireless charger hits $89 (Reg. $129) Greenworks' 60V CrossoverZ electric zero-turn riding mower hits new $3,797 low (Save $1,003) Anker's 256Wh portable power station has nine ports for $170 low (Reg. $220), more from $299 FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. 
Schwinn's Regularly $1,500 E-bikes Now Start From $700, Deals On Portable Power Stations, And More
If spring weather has you thinking it's time to get an e-bike, then today's all-time low prices on these Schwinn models should certainly help, too. Right now, the company's Ingersoll e-bike lands at $700 from its usual $1,500 price tag. It comes joined by tons of other e-bike deals, portable power stations from ALLPOWERS, and all of the other day's other best Green Deals below.
Plus, you'll find all of the other day's other best Green Deals below.
Head below for other New Green Deals we've found today and, of course, Electrek's best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.
Schwinn's Ingersoll and Ridgewood e-bikes hit new all-time lows starting from $700 Dick's Sporting Goods is offering the medium-sized Schwinn Ingersoll Electric Hybrid Throttle Bike for $699.99 shipped. Down from its $1,500 price tag, this model has seen very few discounts over the years, unlike its counterparts that regularly see price cuts – especially during holiday sales. In 2023, the lowest we saw this model drop to was $900 in August before only seeing minor drops throughout the rest of the year. Today's deal comes in as a massive 53% markdown off the going rate, giving you $800 in savings and marking a new all-time low. We've reviewed other Schwinn models before, which you can read through here. The Schwinn Ingersoll is designed for casual cyclists looking for extra power on their rides and is a perfect choice for neighborhood excursions. It comes equipped with a 250W hub motor alongside an integrated 250Wh battery that propels the e-bike up to 20 MPH top speeds for up to 45 miles on a single four-hour charge. You'll have both a pedal assistance option and throttle available to you, along with features like a 7-speed drivetrain, mechanical disc brakes, and controls for the e-bikes pedal assistance levels. The suggested rider height for this e-bike is five-foot-four to five-foot-eight. Dick's Sporting Goods is also offering the Schwinn Ridgewood 29-inch Electric Mountain Throttle Bike for $799.99 shipped, down from $1,500. Sporting many similar design elements as the above model, this one is focused on larger riders, with a suggested rider height of five-foot-nine to six feet. It also sports a 250W hub motor and 250Wh battery that hits 20 MPH for 45 miles, with multiple pedal assistance levels, a throttle, 7-speed drivetrain, mechanical disc brakes, and a simple performance controls. Save on ALLPOWERS power stations, bundles, and accessories ALLPOWERS has launched an International Pet Day sale through April 25 that is taking up to $1,600 off a selection of the company's power stations, bundles, and accessories. A standout amongst the crowd is the S200 Portable Power Station for $79 shipped. Down from its $138 MSRP, it is usually listed for $129 over at Amazon, with discounts there often only falling to $84 at the lowest during major events like the Prime Deal Days or Black Friday sales. Today's deal comes in as a 43% markdown off the going rate that beats our previous mention from yesterday by $10 and returns costs to the all-time lowest price we have tracked. There's also an extra savings opportunity when buying solar panels specifically – buy two and get 15% taken off or buy three or more and get 20% off. This 200W power station offers a quaint 154Wh capacity and can be fully charged via AC and USB together in one and a half hours, a 99W max solar panel in up to two hours, the USB-C in up to three hours, or AC alone in five to six hours. It features five outputs to cover whatever small devices or appliances you'll need to keep powered up: an AC port, two USB-A ports, one USB-C port, as well as a wireless charger on top for quick and convenient use by your smartphone. EcoSmart's ECO 36 Electric Tankless Water Heater at new $399 low Amazon is offering the Ecosmart ECO 36 36kW Electric Tankless Water Heater for $399 shipped. Down from its $749 price tag, it saw many discounts over 2023, with the largest among them dropping costs to a former $425 low during Black Friday and Christmas sales. Today's deal comes in as a 47% markdown off the going rate, beating out our previous mention by $14 and landing at a new all-time low. This 240V water heater has a 6-gallon capacity. It is only 3.6 inches by 21 inches by 17 inches, taking up far less space than a standard water heater while being "99.8% energy efficient and saving you 50-60% on heating costs." Its sleek and compact design features a digital output temperature display and fits pipes with a 3/4-inch NPT. It does require a 4 x 40A breaker. Spring e-bike deals! Super73 RX Electric Motorbike: $2,999 (Reg. $3,695) Lynx All-Terrain e-bike: $2,999 (Reg. $3,999) Juiced's HyperScrambler 2: $1,999 (Reg. $3,499) Aventon Aventure.2 All-Terrain e-bike with free extra battery: $1,799 ($2,499 value) Aventon Abound Cargo e-bike with $372 in free accessories: $1,799 (Reg. $2,199) Heybike Brawn Fat-Tire e-bike: $1,449 (Reg. $1,800) Electric Bike Co. Model J e-bike: $1,299 (Reg. $1,499) Velotric Discover 1 e-bike: $1,099 (Reg. $1,599)
Other new Green Deals landing this week The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. 
Comments
Post a Comment