In city traffic, I rarely have to break. It's basically running the motor backwards (putting a load on it) and dumping the energy back into the batteries. It's limited by how fast the batteries can accept a change, so it doesn't always work when it's very cold out. I'll have to brake when a light catches me by surprise, and I brake when backing down my steep driveway. (The car does stop before getting into the street, but it's going faster than I'm comfortable with when approaching the sidewalk.)

The regenerative breaking is applied as you let off the "gas" pedal. It's kind of like driving a stick, but slows you down faster.