Charge, a micromobility company dedicated to building the largest network of electric charging, storage and service stations for e-scooters and e-bikes, today announced that it deployed its first Charge SmartHub in downtown Los Angeles. Charge also announced it will launch an additional four SmartHubs in California later this year. The Charge SmartHub provides a safe and convenient location for contractors to charge more e-scooters while reducing the travel time required from pick-up to redeployment, thus increasing efficiency and profitability for e-scooter chargers and operators alike.
Charge has partnered with REEF Technology, the largest parking network in North America with more than 4,500 locations, to host the first SmartHub in Los Angeles. Located at 1200 West Olympic Boulevard, the SmartHub sits adjacent to the famed STAPLES Center sports arena and other major local attractions.
Strategically located in a dense urban area, the Charge SmartHub enables gig-economy chargers – also known as “juicers” – to charge more e-scooters simultaneously with less travel time, reducing downtime for e-scooters and helping operators like Lime maximize their profitability. Charge also eliminates fire hazards for juicers, who are often forced to charge e-scooters in their residence.
“Most e-scooter operators rely on a network of contractors to collect scooters each night, charge them in their homes and then redistribute around the city – a clever, yet inefficient and potentially hazardous practice,” said Andrew Fox, CEO and co-founder of Charge. “This model mandates significant travel time for juicers, resulting in operational downtime and profit losses for e-scooter operators. Worse still, juicers face fire hazards when connecting multiple e-scooters to one residential circuit. Our SmartHubs are designed to protect these contractors and maximize their earning potential, while concurrently increasing efficiency and profitability for e-scooter operators.”
Each Charge SmartHub contains four individual bays, capable of charging 18 scooters at once or 72 scooters across the entire hub. Each bay is rented for a 24-hour period via Charge’s mobile application, available both on the App Store and Google Play. The Charge SmartHub automatically detects which operators have e-scooters docked in each station. Operators are then billed by the percentage of charge, just as one might fill up a car at a gas station.
“The transportation needs of cities today are changing rapidly, and we believe micromobility is a key element in creating sustainable solutions for urban areas,” said George Fallica, chief revenue officer at REEF Technology. “Hosting the Charge SmartHub at our distinct downtown Los Angeles location will help us continue to meet the needs of the community. We’re thrilled to partner with Charge as we embark together to better connect city residents with the on-demand economy.”
“Thanks to companies like Charge, I am able to continue to be an independent contractor and charge e-scooters,” said Tiffany Ingle, a Los Angeles-based contract charger. “My landlord required that I no longer charge at my apartment, so I needed to find a new charging location. Charge’s new SmartHub in downtown Los Angeles is easy to use and provides a convenient and secure location to charge. Better yet, I’ve been able to significantly increase the number of scooters I am able to charge per night, which will help me make more money than I did before.”
To rent a SmartHub charging bay in Los Angeles, please download the Charge mobile app on the App Store or Google Play, or visit https://www.charge.us/chargers.
To learn more about the company’s product suite or to bring Charge to your city, please visit https://www.charge.us.
About Charge
Charge is a micromobility company dedicated to building the largest network of electric charging, storage and service stations for e-bikes and e-scooters. The company’s docking stations will be installed in privately-owned parking garages, lots and spaces throughout major markets around the world, providing a convenient, safe and cost-effective space to charge, store and service e-vehicles, while reducing e-vehicle clutter on city streets and sidewalks. Charge has entered into numerous agreements with garage operators and property owners, securing a network of nearly 6,000 locations to install its docking stations. Charge is also developing a proprietary mobile application that will interface with its docking stations and provide users with available locations as well as real-time e-vehicle availability of partnered rideshare platforms. For more information, please visit charge.us, and connect with the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005421/en/