ReachNow installs 20 public EV charging stations in Seattle

BMW’s ReachNow car-sharing service has installed the first of 20 Light & Charge electric vehicle (EV) charging locations in Seattle, US, as part of a US$1.2 million investment by the BMW Group. Seattle is the first city in North America to make the award-winning Light & Charge system, which turns existing streetlights into EV charging stations, available to the public.
May 23, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
BMW’s ReachNow car-sharing service has installed the first of 20 Light & Charge electric vehicle (EV) charging locations in Seattle, US, as part of a US$1.2 million investment by the BMW Group. Seattle is the first city in North America to make the award-winning Light & Charge system, which turns existing streetlights into EV charging stations, available to the public.


The Light & Charge system, developed by BMW together with its partner, eluminocity US, transforms existing street and parking lot light poles into connected nodes on a smart city network. The system combines LED lighting, EV charging and a sensor bus that senses various parameters and connects the site to the cloud. The sensor bus also provides edge-computing power for other connected devices nearby.

In Seattle, each Light & Charge site will include one ChargePoint DC Fast Charger and two to four AC, Level II chargers. The chargers all run on the ChargePoint network and will all be available to the public and compatible with any EV that has a standard SAE J1772 charging port.

The addition of Light & Charge stations in Seattle will also allow ReachNow to expand its shared fleet of EVs. Today, the electric BMW i3 vehicle makes up 10 per cent of the total ReachNow fleet and, with less than a year on the road, ReachNow’s shared electric fleet claims to have saved more than 55 tons of CO2 emissions.

Related Content

  • Peer-to-Peer carsharing in Europe projected to grow significantly
    August 24, 2012
    According to Frost & Sullivan, by 2020 more than 200 traditional carsharing organisations (CSOs) and another 24 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) CSOs are expected to take the European market for carsharing to new heights. More than 14 million new members are expected to use carsharing services in Europe by the same year, while three new sub-segments will emerge in the market: electric vehicle carsharing, corporate carsharing and one-way carsharing. While the new segments arise in particular due to continued urbanisation
    Read More
  • Nevada high speed tunnel gets intelligent lighting control
    June 11, 2014
    Quebec-based tunnel lighting specialist Nyx Hemera has completed the installation of its tunnel lighting addressable control system (TLACS) in the Carlin Tunnel, Nevada, USA, claimed to be the first highway rated speed tunnel in North America to be fully lighted with LEDs. Located in north-eastern Nevada and crossing over the Humbolt River, the quarter-mile long Carlin tunnel runs through an approximately US$31 million refurbishment project and includes enhanced roadway drainage, new concrete near tunne
    Read More
  • First Transit launches AV pilot
    December 12, 2016
    US-based First Transit, in partnership with EasyMile, is to carry out the first autonomous vehicle (AV) passenger shuttle pilot in North America, at the 585 acre Bishop Ranch Office Park in San Ramon, California. The shuttle will connect tenants to multiple transit options including bus, bike and car-sharing services. The AV passenger shuttle is designed to travel short distances using pre-programmed routes. Each shuttle can carry 12 passengers and can operate for 14 hours on a battery charge; it is equi
    Read More
  • Fixed or wireless communications?
    February 3, 2012
    Optelecom-NKF's Coen Hooghiemstra considers the play-offs and pay-offs involved when deciding whether to go for fixed or wireless communications solutions
    Read More

Highlighted Content