EV Charging for TLC Drivers: Chargers and Use by Borough

At the end of February 2026, New York City had 3,526 Level 2 chargers and 370 fast chargers, according to TLC's February 2026 For-Hire Vehicle License Review. In the year before that report, 235 Level 2 and 117 fast chargers were added, and half of the new fast chargers went to Queens. City-run chargers are busy in some places (the Bronx fast-charging site averaged 75% use) and quiet in others (16% on the Lower East Side).

This page collects those official numbers in one place and adds one comparison TLC did not publish: where new fast chargers went versus where app trips start. For where to charge and how to get the discount, use our EV charging guide for TLC drivers.

The numbers at a glance

"Level 2" chargers are the slower kind you plug in for hours. "Fast" chargers (DC fast) can add a lot of range during a break. TLC's report does not split fast chargers by plug type or power, and the totals include chargers open to all drivers, not only TLC drivers.

Where the new chargers went, by borough

Queens got 58 of the 117 new fast chargers (49.6%) and 125 of the 235 new Level 2 chargers (53.2%). Manhattan got only 2 new fast chargers. One airport site is part of that growth: TLC says the Port Authority and the New York Power Authority opened 12 fast chargers at LaGuardia Airport in December 2025.

New fast chargers vs where app trips start

TLC's report says the city should add charging where drivers live and work. One way to see the gap is to put the new fast chargers next to app pickups. The second chart uses our trip-record dataset (Uber, Lyft and other high-volume app trips, September 2025 – August 2026).

Read this with care. Manhattan has the most app pickups but got almost no new fast chargers. That is not automatically a problem: a driver may charge near home, during a break or near an airport, not where a trip starts. TLC's report also says existing fast chargers in the Bronx sit where relatively few TLC drivers live. TLC's own view is that Jamaica and Jackson Heights in Queens and the Grand Concourse corridor in the Bronx are "particularly suitable locations for additional charging," because they have large driver populations, busy chargers and nearby highways and airports.

How busy are NYC DOT fast chargers?

NYC DOT runs five fast-charging sites where TLC drivers get the 15% discount. TLC published their monthly use (share of time in use), from NYC DOT data.

Two things stand out. First, the Bronx site filled up almost as soon as it opened: 89% use in December 2025. TLC calls the Bronx "the borough with the least access to fast charging." Second, the Lower East Side site (Delancey-Essex) stayed under 25% all year, so there is slack in some places even while others are crowded.

Curbside Level 2 chargers

These 98 curbside chargers are a small part of the 3,526 Level 2 total, but they are public and on the street. At 70–80% use in four boroughs, expect to wait at times.

Who is charging: the TLC EV fleet

About 13% of for-hire vehicles are battery electric in this snapshot, against well under 1% of yellow taxis. TLC's report says there are no electric wheelchair accessible vehicles on the U.S. market, so the WAV share of the fleet does not add charging demand. Under the Green Rides Initiative, Uber and Lyft must send 25% of 2026 trips to EVs or WAVs; TLC estimated that could take up to 1,000 extra EV conversions beyond normal turnover, and said the charging network can keep up if last year's build-out pace continues. More fleet detail: electric TLC vehicle statistics.

What the data can't tell you

• No live availability. These are counts and averages. They do not tell you whether a charger is free right now or working today.
• Totals include all public chargers. The 3,526 and 370 counts come from the NYSERDA locator and include chargers that may be in garages, private lots or networks with their own prices.
• Utilization is only for NYC DOT sites. Private networks did not publish comparable use data in TLC's report.
• Pickups are not charging demand. Drivers charge near home, during breaks, or near airports. A borough with many pickups does not need chargers in the same proportion.
• Dates differ. Charger counts are as of February 2026, utilization runs to January or February 2026, and trip counts cover September 2025 – August 2026.

What to do next

• Find sites and sign up for the 15% DOT discount: EV charging for NYC TLC drivers.
• Deciding whether an EV makes sense for you: EV vs hybrid for Uber in NYC.
• See where trips go between boroughs: borough-to-borough trip flows and rideshare trips by borough.
• Planning breaks: taxi relief stands statistics and taxi stands by borough.