The City of Boston is looking to partner with private businesses to expand the availability of electric vehicle charging stations on public roads.
The aim of two requests for proposals released this week by the city is to “bolster the number of public, curbside charging stations equitably distributed citywide” for residents who drive electric vehicles, but don’t have driveways to charge them.
“With rapidly advancing technology and subsidies from federal and state sources, electric vehicles can be affordable for families looking for a cleaner, greener alternative, but we must develop the public charging infrastructure to ensure accessibility across all our communities,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement.
Wu added, “As we work to improve multimodal transportation access across walking, biking and public transit, we also strive to make the transition to electric vehicles possible and create jobs building the infrastructure necessary for our city.”
One request is looking to test the private market, to see if there is potential for increasing curbside chargers equitably along public sidewalks, at no cost to the city. Boston would provide curb space for free to the selected contractor.
The Wu administration is also interested in contracting with a business to expand city-owned electric vehicle chargers beyond municipal parking lots. This partner would install and service municipally-owned charging stations on curb spaces along the public right-of-way, the mayor’s office said.
Proposals are due by July 26 for the project, which is part of the city’s goal to ensure every household is within a 10-minute walk of a publicly-accessible EV charger by 2030, Wu’s office said.
It also expands upon current efforts to build EV charging stations in municipal parking lots. The demand for public-access chargers is “much greater” than what can be provided from these off-street parking lots alone, city officials said.
“We know that to eliminate climate change and environmental pollution, residents, commuters and visitors cannot rely on personal vehicles, but if they need a car it should be electric,” Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia said in a statement.
“As we implement a Green New Deal for Boston, we are looking for ways to make the inevitable EV transition work best for our city. We’re focusing on strategies that address the needs of drivers who can’t charge at home, and we’re seeking to create a market that can bring more workers into the business of decarbonization.”
An additional $700,000 was set aside for electric vehicle charging equipment in the fiscal year 2024 budget, bringing the total amount available for that purpose in the Streets Cabinet to $1.35 million, the mayor’s office said.
The city is also installing projects for curbside charging at 15 sites, with infrastructure scheduled to be operational within the next 6-12 months.
A nearly $19 million project, which is pending grant approval, would install 40 direct current fast charging and 260 Level 2 electric vehicle ports in municipal parking lots, at expanded GoHub! locations, and near dense residential main streets and neighborhood commercial districts, Wu’s office said.
“These investments will create a more accessible and equitable charging network which will expand the options our residents have in how they choose to travel,” Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge said in a statement.