Food carts are a staple of New York City dining, dispensing everything from dosa and doner kebabs to dogs and dim sum in short order. But no matter how enticing the aroma of a cart's food, the smelly gas generators that keep the lights on threaten to put customers off their meals. Cart owners and customers may not have to suck on fumes much longer. A Brooklyn-based startup is testing the use of its e-bike batteries to power food carts, starting with La Chona Mexican on the corner of 30th and Broadway in Manhattan. 'This really started out as a lark last summer,' David Hammer, co-founder and CEO of PopWheels, told TechCrunch. 'I'm an ex-Googler from the early days, and this felt like a classic, old-school 20% project.' PopWheels currently operates 30 charging cabinets around Manhattan, which serve gig workers riding e-bikes, most of whom use either Arrow or Whizz models. That's resulted in a 'de facto decentralized fleet,' Hammer said, allowing the company to stock just a few...
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