The New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has been focused on building out an electric vehicle (EV) charging network to support the goal of introducing electric vehicles to the city's fleet. According to the city, NYC has built one of the nation’s largest single charging networks with 1,400+ ports and growing.

The city's sustainability unit led by Assistant Fleet Commissioner Brent Taylor and Sustainability Coordinators Fiona Crisp and Julia Marchetti is tracking the EV charging inventory and installing more sites.  

During the COVID-19 period, the city started to experience how out-of-service equipment can impact charging infrastructure and the need for a coordinated program of maintenance and upkeep.

In the spring of 2022, DCAS organized a Field Services Unit including Supervisor Marcin Gubernat, Field Technician Gary Prasad, and two mechanics, Vincent Stephen and Michael Doman. 

The Field Services Unit has spent the last year conducting a full review of the fleet’s charging, developing an expertise on servicing and repair, identifying replacement parts, and tackling the out-of-service chargers. In the last year, they have achieved a 67% reduction in down chargers with a goal of no more than 5% out of service at any time, according to DCAS. The unit is now the NYC's go-to team for EV charging service issues citywide. 

In addition to charging, the Field Services Unit will also be handling projects such as the installation and replacement of telematics devices on fleet vehicles, safety outfitting, including surround cameras and pedestrian alerts for trucks, intelligent speed assist (ISA) installation, and rollout of the sideguard law for City contractors. To support their growing efforts, the team will now be operating out of a Ford E-Transit all-electric cargo van as their mobile repair and servicing unit.