By COLlive reporter
Say goodbye to the bright blue option.
The Revel electric cars that became a familiar sight on New York City streets will cease to exist, it was announced on Monday.
The company ended its all-electric rideshare service to focus on building fast-charging infrastructure in major cities, including New York.
“Ending rideshare is the best way we can accelerate the EV transition,” said Revel co-founder and CEO Frank Reig, noting the company’s role in introducing thousands of New Yorkers to electric vehicles.
Revel currently operates 100 chargers at five NYC stations and one in San Francisco, with 100 more under construction. The company aims to reach 2,000 charging stalls by 2030.
Launched in 2018 as a moped rental service in Brooklyn, Revel once provided nearly 600,000 rides a month in San Francisco. It ended moped rentals in 2023 after declining demand and safety concerns.
In 2022, Crown Heights was buzzing after promo codes for free electric rides went viral, and Revel’s light-blue Tesla rides began appearing around the neighborhood. The company responded by promising to honor the free ride credits, even as the codes spread unexpectedly.
Later, Crown Heights residents were frustrated again when Revel altered its “End Ride Zone” to exclude much of the community. A petition emerged demanding that the zone be redrawn to include the neighborhood—concerns ranged from unfair exclusion to worries over limiting access.
I remember those days with the free codes. It was very helpful but they didn’t always have availability, and that caused riders to get frustrated and stop using the revel service.