San Francisco Advances Kerbside EV Charging Pilot to Meet Climate and Equity Goals

Published on January 7, 2025

San Francisco’s kerbside EV charging pilot has entered its next phase, showcasing proposals from three innovative providers—Urban EV, It’s Electric, and Voltpost. This groundbreaking initiative is designed to address the charging needs of residents without access to off-street parking, while aligning with the city’s Climate Action Plan and equitable EV adoption goals.

The pilot program is a joint effort between several city departments, including the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Public Works. Early installations are planned for neighborhoods like Duboce Triangle and Dogpatch, with the goal of scaling citywide in the coming years. By partnering with providers, the city will collect data on usage and demand, laying the foundation for a comprehensive kerbside EV charging policy.

The three participating providers offer diverse and scalable solutions tailored to urban environments:

• Urban EV: Focuses on integrating user-friendly chargers into residential areas, ensuring ease of use for local residents.
• It’s Electric: Offers compact chargers powered by untapped electricity supplies, optimizing underutilized infrastructure for maximum efficiency.
• Voltpost: Retrofitting existing lamp posts into modular Level 2 chargers, minimizing installation costs and enhancing feasibility.

These approaches aim to reduce costs, streamline deployment, and ensure scalability, making them suitable for San Francisco’s diverse neighborhoods.

San Francisco currently has approximately 1,000 public EV charging stations and aims to significantly expand this network. The city plans to install over 1,700 public chargers by 2030 and build an additional 5,000 curbside charging stations to meet growing demand. This expansion aligns with broader goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring equitable access to EV infrastructure.

As the pilot progresses, the city will use data collected from the installations to assess usage patterns, demand, and potential challenges. This information will guide the development of a citywide kerbside charging policy, ensuring the program’s long-term sustainability and alignment with San Francisco’s climate action and equity objectives.

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