After deadly fires, New York is trying public e-bike charging hubs
Why it matters
Lithium-ion batteries, used to power e-bikes, e-scooters and other e-mobility devices, have quickly become one of the leading causes of deadly fires in New York City. The batteries caused 268 fires in 2023, killing 18 people and injuring 150 others.
This year, as of Feb. 26, there have been 31 lithium battery fires in the city, including a fire at a Harlem apartment building last week that killed 27-year-old Fazil Khan, a journalist, and injured 17 others.
Lithium batteries can explode with little or no warning. Fire officials have warned that batteries should not be stored or charged near doors and windows where fire could hinder escape. The safest place to charge batteries is outdoors.
“I think I can literally say today that projects like this are going to save lives,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a news conference.
The charging hubs will be installed starting next week, Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said.
Background
Last year, New York became the first city in the United States to ban the sale of e-mobility devices and batteries that are not certified to industry safety standards. The city council passed a law on Wednesday to strengthen enforcement and penalties for illegal sales of devices and require sellers to post battery safety information in stores and online.
New York leaders have also focused on unsafe battery conditions at e-bike shops public service announcementsand lobbied for greater state and federal oversight of e-mobility devices. Several voluntary trade-in programs have attempted to take unsafe e-bikes and batteries off the streets.
The city received a $25 million federal grant last year to install 173 outdoor charging stations for e-bikes and other e-mobility devices in 53 of the city’s subsidized public housing complexes, but none have been built yet. A separate pilot program with utility Con Edison is expected to install charging stations in four other complexes by the end of this year.
A safer way to charge e-bikes
The city collaborates with three companies: Swobbee, PopWheels And Swiftmile — about the new charging hubs.
The other locations are outside Essex Market, a food market on the Lower East Side; at Plaza de Las Americas, a pedestrian plaza in Washington Heights; at Willoughby and Jay Streets in downtown Brooklyn; and at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park.
Swobbee and PopWheels will install battery swapping stations where riders can replace used batteries with fully charged ones. Swiftmile installs a secure charging bicycle rack where e-bikes can be parked and charged. Only at the Cooper Square and Brooklyn Army Terminal hubs will charging technologies from all three companies be available.
The charging hubs will include fire safety measures such as sensors to monitor the batteries and an automatic shut-off function if a battery overheats. Fire officials will regularly inspect each charging hub.
During the pilot program, a maximum of 100 delivery personnel worked can do volunteer work to use the charging hubs for free and provide feedback to the city. City officials did not immediately respond to questions about how much the pilot program would cost and whether it would be expanded beyond delivery drivers.
Swobbee already operates a network of battery swapping stations in 10 cities in Europe, including Vienna, Berlin and Lisbon. William Wachtel, president of Swobbee USA, said the company has had no fires after more than a million complaints.
Mr. Wachtel said the company plans to set up a network of charging hubs for all e-bike riders across New York, charging up to $2 per day for unlimited battery changes.