Revel exits ride-hailing to focus on US fast-charging network
For those visiting the Revel website these days, the message is clear: Things are about to change. “Revel’s Rideshare service has ended,” it states on the website, adding that “moving forward, Revel will continue to grow our Fast Charging business with more sites and cities opening soon.”
The company, which launched in 2019 with e-moped rentals before expanding into ride-hailing in 2021, currently operates around 100 fast chargers across five sites in New York City and one in San Francisco. It plans to add “300 new stalls across the Bay Area and NYC in the next twelve months,” as Frank Reig, co-founder and CEO of Revel stated on LinkedIn. Longer term, Revel targets up to 2,000 stalls nationwide by 2030 and it will open a fast-charging hub in Los Angeles next year.
The moped rental business in San Francisco was already discontinued in 2023. Now, the ridesharing fleet in New York, made up of blue Tesla and Kia EVs, will be sold off, Bloomberg reports. According to the news agency, each of the 165 vehicles will go for $20,000–$25,000.
The decision follows sustained competitive pressure in New York’s ride-hail market, where Uber and Lyft dominate. Revel’s own utilisation data shows the shift in demand: in early 2023, its chargers were used 21% of the time, with 19% of that from its own fleet. By early 2025, utilisation had risen to 45%, with only 12% from Revel’s vehicles, largely driven by agreements to serve Uber drivers, TechCrunch reports. The latter was already concluded in 2024, stipulating that Uber guarantees that its drivers will use Revel’s chargers in return for discounts on charging sessions.
“We have made the difficult decision that the best way we can keep the EV transition moving forward is by ending our rideshare service and focusing on building the charging infrastructure our biggest cities need to keep going electric,” Reig continued on LinkedIn. “While we move forward with just our infrastructure division, the impact the rideshare team has had on our culture, problem solving, and momentum will be long lasting. I’m grateful for every person that contributed to making Revel rideshare a reality.”
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