The COVID pandemic put a spotlight on a growing transportation problem: over 250,000 essential working New Yorkers are lower income, largely people of color, who live in transportation deserts, who cannot work remotely, and travel long distances in often convoluted, time consuming routes in their commute daily.  They depend on the MTA and have few reliable alternative transportation options. Electric micromobility (e-bikes and e-scooters) provide a solution that can reduce commute time, traffic congestion, and carbon emissions, as well as improving peoples’ overall well being.

CSB’s Invest NYC SDG initiative is proud to have co-founded the Equitable Commute Project (ECP), an initiative that aims to support transportation justice by putting electric micromobility vehicles into the hands of 5,000 lower-income frontline workers in NYC by providing subsidies and low cost microloans for the vehicles’ purchase.  A three-year pilot, the ECP will also help build a robust green workforce to support micromobility maintenance, storage, and repairs, stimulating a more equitable recovery. 

The ECP is a consortium that includes CSB, NYU Rudin Center for Transportation, NYU Tandon School C2SMART Center, Transportation Alternatives, Electric Avenue, The HOPE Program, Barretto Bay Strategies, and Spring Bank, working in partnership to make micromobility available to those who need it. The ECP  was recently selected as a finalist for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Clean Transportation Prize, a program designed to electrify transportation, reduce air pollution, and enhance clean mobility in disadvantaged communities throughout New York State.  The ECP is among six finalists, three of which will be awarded $7 million each. 

Read the full announcement from the Governor’s Office here, and learn more about ECP here.