As E-Bikes Boom in NYC, Some Call for More Regulations
A bill that would require all electric bikes and scooters to be licensed with the city is part of a wider effort to rein in the battery-powered mobility devices.
A delivery worker rides an e-bike in New York City in 2024. Some 65,000 delivery workers in the city rely on the battery-powered vehicles.
Photographer: Adam Gray/BloombergOn most days, crossing Broadway on foot near New York City’s Herald Square requires a keen sense of one’s surroundings. In addition to avoiding yellow cabs and other vehicular traffic, pedestrians must negotiate a high-speed parade of bikeshare riders, delivery workers on e-bikes, and cargo bikes hauling trailers of goods in both directions.
New York City’s streets are a window into a fast-expanding universe of micromobility. The sheer number and diversity of vehicles on the road — bikes, scooters, mopeds, electric unicycles, e-bikes, along with traditional cars, trucks and buses — can make for a dizzying experience. The explosive growth of e-scooters and e-bikes has also led to tensions with drivers and pedestrians and brought demands for more regulations governing this new segment of vehicles.