Photo: Stock Unsplash
June 25, 2020 By Christian Murray
The New York City Council passed legislation Thursday that legalizes the operation of most e-bicycles and e-scooters.
The legislation is a long time coming but the council had to wait for Albany to pass legislation allowing municipalities to approve their use. That took place earlier this year after much prompting by Queens legislators State Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assembly Member Nily Rozic.
The council essentially codified what the state passed earlier this year.
The legislation passed today legalizes e-bikes with a top speed of 25 miles per hour and e-scooters with a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour.
The rules governing e-bikes and e-scooters have been murky in New York City for some time. Up until now, pedal-assisted e-bikes were legal but throttle-powered e-bikes and scooters were not.
The throttle-powered e-bikes are popular with food delivery people.
The NYPD, with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s backing, had a history of confiscating throttle-powered e-bikes– and ticketing workers riding them. Both the mayor and NYPD were heavily criticized for doing so.
Council Member Costa Constantinides lauded the council for its vote today.
“I am proud to be part of a city council that continues to adapt and innovate based on the evolutions of our streetscape,” Constantinides said. “E-bikes and e-scooters have become an environmentally friendlier way to meet the rush of meal delivery demands, first brought about by online-ordering apps and then the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The council also passed legislation requiring the Department of Transportation to set up an e-scooter share pilot program—like Citi Bike—outside of Manhattan.
BREAKING: The @NYCCouncil just legalized e-bikes and e-scooters, giving New Yorkers more ways to get around safely and sustainably. This will #DeliverJustice to delivery cyclists who kept our city running during the pandemic, ensuring they are not unfairly targeted by the NYPD.
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) June 25, 2020
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5 Comments
Will the law force them to stop for red lights and stop signs? Many, if not the majority, simply ignore the traffic signals and speed on their own way, endangering their own lives as well as defenseless pedestrians!
100lb bicycles with 200lb delivery guys going 25mph within inches of pedestrians on the non-separated bike/pedestrian paths is going to invite serious injury for some poor soul.
Many of these delivery guys aren’t going to stop after injuring someone either – for obvious reasons – I don’t think you’ll need 3 guesses why. These guys need to be licensed and insured if they are going to be travelling at those speeds anywhere near pedestrians or regular commuting bikers.
These bikes ride like a scooter/motorcycle so they belong to the car lane not bike lanes. Riding on the sidewalk should be a no no.. Going the wrong way should be no no.. A few weeks ago a delivery e-bike was riding on the sidewalk passed me so fast in front of 114th Precinct. I thought the policeman waiting outside was going to stop him. Instead he took out of his cell phone and made himself busy…We pay tax for what?
Who is going to stop them riding full speed on the sidewalks, disregarding stop signs, traffic lights, pedestrians??? A mayor who does not care to stop looters would not care about this either I guess…
Since they legalized them ,make them pay for insurance and license plates. If one of those hits a person or a car ,how is going to pay the damages. Plus since they are taking away streets from motorists that pay for the streets they must pay there share.