In yet another pivot for the company that began by renting electric scooters in 2019, Revel has discontinued its ride-hailing service in New York City.
Revel will concentrate on its emerging EV charging business, which encompasses the operation of five stations in New York and one in San Francisco, in the future.
On Monday, a message was displayed on Revel’s app, expressing gratitude to users for “riding with us the last four years!” and announcing the permanent closure of its rideshare service.
Revel’s website reiterated the same message: “We will continue to expand our Fast Charging business by opening additional sites and cities in the near future.”
In a statement to TechCrunch, Revel co-founder and CEO Frank Reig stated, “We have made the difficult decision that the best way to keep the EV transition moving forward is by ending our rideshare service and focusing on building the fast charging infrastructure our biggest cities need to keep going electric.”
Bloomberg News has reported that Revel intends to either dispose of or return its fleet of bright-blue Tesla and Kia vehicles. The company will also sell the 165 “for-hire vehicle license plates” affixed to those vehicles. According to Reig, Bloomberg, each plate could be worth between $20,000 and $25,000.
Revel’s initial chargers were unveiled in 2021, concurrently with the introduction of its ride-hailing fleet. However, the company’s charging business encountered a sluggish adoption rate during those early years.
The company disclosed to TechCrunch that the network’s total utilization in early 2023 was a mere 21%, with 19% of that figure originating from Revel’s ride-hailing fleet.
In early 2025, the utilization rate had increased to 45%, with only 12% of the charging from Revel’s fleet. The company received a substantial boost in 2024 when Uber agreed to dispatch many of its drivers to Revel’s chargers.
By the conclusion of 2026, Revel intends to have “more than 400” charging stations operational in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
