Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems put out a call recently for companies to submit proposals to install EV chargers throughout the city, especially in disadvantaged neighborhoods, writes Meir Rinde for Billy Penn at WHYY.

OTIS wants to have none of the costs related to the chargers — which would be installed on curbs and parking lots — to be covered by taxpayers. This includes installing and maintaining the chargers as well as operating an app, payment system, and data dashboard. The office is also asking companies to hand over part of their revenues to the city.

According to the city’s bid document, installations could start as early as January.

Officials at OTIS were previously hesitant about inviting EV charging companies to implement privately funded projects. However, as the number of EVs registered in the city has already grown to around 11,000, it is obvious that there is an immediate need for more EV chargers.

“So there’s a huge imperative to provide publicly available charging infrastructure to support this growing population of EV owners,” said Anna Kelly, OTIS’s senior policy advisor for electric vehicles and parking.

Currently, Philly only has 145 public charging stations with 378 charging ports.

Read more about the city’s call for proposals to install more EV chargers in Billy Penn at WHYY.

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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on PHILADELPHIA Today in October 2024.