NYC’s Curbside EV Charging Pilot Shows Strong Demand and Reliability, but Community Concerns Persist, Q3 2025 Report Finds

New York City’s bold experiment in curbside electric-vehicle charging is delivering powerful evidence that on-street charging can play a central role in urban electrification, according to Consolidated Edison’s newly released Q3 2025 progress report.

The findings, covering four years of deployment, usage, and public feedback, highlight surging demand, near-perfect uptime, and growing EV dependence on curbside infrastructure. But they also point to stubborn challenges, including low community satisfaction and intense parking pressures.

The demonstration project, launched in 2019 and jointly implemented by Con Edison (Consolidated Edison), the NYC Department of Transportation, and charging provider FLO, deployed 118 Level 2 chargers throughout the five boroughs. The initiative tested whether curbside chargers could be widely accepted, heavily used, and ultimately viable as a long-term business model for a dense urban environment.

In August 2022, FLO announced installation of its 100th charging station in New York City.

“New Yorkers are setting an example for cities across the country in their commitment to electrify their city,” said Louis Tremblay, president and CEO of FLO, in August 2022. “FLO is proud to be a partner in the transition to a cleaner future here in New York City by providing a curbside charging solution to the city’s residents. We know reliability is a crucial driver of EV adoption and we are proud to have been able to provide an unprecedented uptime of more than 99% in New York City by actively monitoring and maintaining every unit in the network. We look forward to the continued expansion of our charging network here in New York City and across the United States.”

The headline finding: utilization far surpassed expectations. Con Edison reports that charger usage exceeded targets by more than sixfold, rising from 27% in the first year to 72% in 2025, with system peaks hitting 80%. The highest-use station, in Jackson Heights, was nearly fully occupied for months at a time. The dramatic rise in demand, especially in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, accelerated after the Taxi & Limousine Commission opened 10,000 new EV licenses under its “Green Rides” initiative.

A regression analysis conducted for the project revealed the key drivers of usage: neighborhoods with high housing density, limited access to alternative chargers, and large populations of professional drivers saw the strongest demand. After 2024, low-income ZIP codes emerged as some of the most active charging areas. This serves as evidence, the report notes, that curbside charging delivers an equitable benefit across demographic groups.

Still, the boom in demand came with downsides. Driver satisfaction fell far short of the project’s original 90% target, landing at just 62%. FLO’s survey of nearly 700 users showed that most dissatisfaction stemmed from “too few chargers” and “difficulty finding an available charger.” Many also reported being blocked by gasoline vehicles, despite NYC DOT data showing that ICE-vehicle interference has decreased as EV usage has grown. The network’s Net Promoter Score landed at -1, a figure the report attributes to scarcity: drivers hesitate to recommend chargers that are already too busy.

Community satisfaction proved to be the most challenging metric of all. Despite a successful increase in public awareness, from just 7% at launch to 33% by 2025, neighborhood surveys never rose above 28% satisfaction. The primary complaint: loss of scarce parking spaces. Non-EV owners expressed the most frustration, particularly in areas where parking is already highly constrained. While perceived drawbacks declined over time, the report acknowledges that resistance to dedicating parking for EVs is unlikely to disappear soon.

Reliability, however, was a resounding success. The FLO network recorded over 99% uptime for the entire duration of the project, far outpacing most public charging networks nationwide. This was achieved through an aggressive preventative-maintenance strategy, including more than 3,000 proactive service actions. Corrective repairs, largely due to physical damage, totaled just 320 cases. Con Edison notes that while this reliability came at a high cost, future scaling could dilute these expenses across a larger footprint.

Taken together, the results paint a clear picture of curbside charging’s role in New York City’s transportation future. The report concludes that demand already exceeds supply, with stations operating at or near capacity. Con Edison recommends expanding the network significantly and prioritizing neighborhoods with multi-unit housing and high concentrations of TLC drivers—areas shown to generate the strongest utilization.

The report also urges the city to strengthen parking enforcement to curb ICE-vehicle blocking and to continue robust community engagement efforts, especially in neighborhoods where the loss of parking remains a sensitive issue.

Despite mixed public perception, the demonstration project confirms that curbside EV charging is not only technically and operationally feasible, but essential to supporting New York’s rapidly growing electric-vehicle population. As the project wraps up after a one-year extension, the data suggests that curbside charging will remain a cornerstone of urban electrification, and that scaling the network will be critical to meeting the city’s climate and mobility goals.

FLO: Building the Backbone of North America’s EV Charging Future

As electric vehicle adoption accelerates across North America, one company has steadily emerged as a cornerstone of reliable public charging infrastructure: FLO. While many EV charging brands chase rapid expansion, FLO has built its reputation on something far more essential: durability, uptime, and user experience.

Founded in Quebec and now operating one of the largest integrated charging networks on the continent, FLO designs and manufactures its stations in North America, giving the company a tight grip on quality control. That focus on rugged engineering has earned FLO a loyal following among drivers who want charging that simply works, no matter the climate or location.

A Network Built for Real-World Conditions

From the icy streets of Montreal to the scorching deserts of the Southwest, FLO chargers have been tested in some of the harshest environments. Their signature Level 2 stations, especially the FLO X5 for homes and the FLO Core+ for commercial sites, are engineered to withstand snow, salt, heat, humidity, and heavy use. This resilience translates into some of the highest uptime levels in the industry, a critical metric as EV drivers increasingly rely on public chargers for daily transportation.

Reliability by Design

Unlike some charging networks that outsource manufacturing or rely heavily on imported components, FLO vertically integrates much of its hardware and software ecosystem. This unified model means they can rapidly address technical issues, streamline interoperability, and maintain consistent performance across tens of thousands of stations. Their test labs and design centers in Quebec and Michigan continually iterate on hardware to support new vehicle types, faster charging speeds, and enhanced grid integration.

Commitment to North American Manufacturing

FLO has also become a symbol of the revitalization of North American clean-energy manufacturing. The company opened a major manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in 2023, one of the largest EV charger factories in the United States, with an annual production capacity reaching hundreds of thousands of units. As federal and state incentives push utilities, fleets, and businesses to adopt EV charging, domestic manufacturing has become a strategic advantage.

Smart Charging for Homes, Workplaces, and Cities

Whether it is a residential charger in a homeowner’s garage, a workplace charging hub, or a citywide public network, FLO tailors solutions to each use case. Their cloud-based management system gives property owners real-time visibility into charger health, session usage, and energy management. For drivers, the FLO app helps locate stations, start charging sessions, and track activity with a simple, intuitive interface.

Toward a Reliable, Interoperable Future

As more EVs hit the road and public charging demand grows, reliability and network cohesion have become top priorities across the industry. FLO is tackling these challenges head-on by expanding partnerships with automakers, utilities, and government agencies while supporting open communication standards and integrations with roaming partners.

In a market that often celebrates speed and scale, FLO stands out for focusing on something far more sustainable: resilience, engineering quality, and driver trust. As the transition to electric mobility accelerates, FLO’s approach may prove to be exactly what North America needs, a charging network built not just to grow quickly, but to last.