New York City Tests Swappable E-Bike Batteries to Power Street Food Carts

A six-month pilot with 10 vendors replaces gasoline generators with swappable e-bike batteries, aiming to reduce noise and pollution. Previous attempts failed due to scalability and charging infrastructure.

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New York City has launched a six-month pilot program in which 10 food vendors are replacing their gasoline generators with swappable electric batteries, an effort to cut both noise and air pollution in the streets. The pilot began in July 2026.

The city has roughly 20,500 licensed food carts, and the vast majority run on gasoline generators. According to the city council, converting all carts to electric power would have the same environmental impact as taking approximately 30,000 cars off the road each year.

One participant is William Arevalo, a 59-year-old vendor who sells hot dogs, empanadas, and fried shrimp from a cart in a Queens park. Arevalo said the generator smoke used to enter the truck, harming his health, and the noise made it hard to hear customers. He also noted that batteries are more reliable than fuel generators, which can overheat and cut out in summer.

The cart is equipped with an inverter that holds up to six batteries, each about 30 centimeters long. The batteries provide power for roughly five hours before they need to be swapped. The batteries are the same type used for e-bikes and are supplied by PopWheels, a New York City startup. They are charged at fire-resistant lockers.

Previous efforts to electrify food carts have faced obstacles. In 2013, the city hooked up carts to the electrical grid, which cut emissions and noise but proved not scalable. Another pilot run by the Street Vendor Project used similar batteries but struggled with charging infrastructure.

The city envisions a subscription model in which vendors pay a fee for batteries and access to charging stations. Isabela Brown, a senior policy adviser at the mayor's climate office, said she expects the cost to be competitive with gasoline. She added that the main expense for vendors is installing the inverter system, which costs thousands of dollars—similar to a gasoline generator—though running costs are lower long term, according to proponents. The city is exploring loans and other financial solutions to help cover the upfront cost.