re:Charge and the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) are piloting a new universal wireless charging solution for electric bikes in Amsterdam, New York.
This initiative supports CDTA’s CDPHP Cycle! shared micromobility programme.
The pilot programme is the first in the US to utilise a wireless charging solution compatible with a variety of shared electric micromobility bikes.
To conduct the trail, a new charging station has been installed at Mohawk Valley Gateway Park, featuring four charging docks.
Olson, re:Charge co-founder said:At re:Charge, we believe that electric bikes, scooters and other types of shared micromobility will play a larger role in transportation, sustainability and equity worldwide. The electric micromobility charging stations that we are launching will help make it possible for more people to ride more bikes more often.
The on-street Charging as a Service (CaaS) solution aims to reduce operating costs and increase vehicle availability for the city’s bikeshare programme.
This will help make shared bikes and scooters a safer, more attractive, available, and affordable transportation option.
Indeed, according to McKinsey, the cost of shared mobility operators driving cars and trucks around to swap batteries for electric bikes and scooters represents more than half of each shared mobility system’s operating cost.
CDTA CEO Carm Basile said:The re:Charge stations will help us provide a high-quality, electric bikeshare service to our customers while reducing the system’s operating costs and increasing efficiencies. We want to thank our incredible partners at CDPHP for their support of our bikeshare program over the last 8 years. With more than 400 electric bikes in our fleet, we look forward to working with re:Charge to expand the charging network throughout our regional service area.
As part of the pilot, five CDPHP electric bikes have been equipped with a new front basket incorporating a wireless power receiver.
Users of CDPHP Cycle! vehicles in Amsterdam can return one of these five charger-equipped bikes to the charging stations, where charging will begin automatically.
The infrastructure has been installed and operated at no cost to CDTA. The charging stations were funded by grants from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), NY accelerator Innovate 518, and private investors.
The re:Charge solution uses a universal, wireless power transfer technology that eliminates the need for plugs and wires during charging.
The pilot project is expected to last 16 weeks.
