Councilmember Robert Holden of Queens demanded city lawmakers move forward with his proposed bill to require license plates and vehicle registrations for any electric bike, scooter or other motorized vehicle.
The bill, which was introduced last year and is sponsored by 31 of the City Council’s 51 members, takes aim at the e-bikes used by thousands of delivery workers as well as pedal-assist e-bikes, such as those in the Citi Bike fleet.
During a rally outside City Hall, Holden said the surge of unregulated electric bikes, scooters and mopeds across the city has become a safety concern. He called for his bill to receive a hearing in the Council’s transportation committee by the end of the year.
FDNY data shows that lithium-ion batteries, which power many e-bikes and e-scooters, have sparked fires that have killed 18 people and injured another 133 so far in 2023.
Holden said requiring e-bikes to have license plates would discourage their riders from fleeing crash scenes.
“Let’s find out who they are,” Holden said, referring to e-bike riders. “How many actual e-bikes do you see stopping at a red light or observing traffic laws?”
Data from the city’s Department of Transportation shows just one pedestrian has been killed by an e-bike rider in the city so far this year, compared to at least 90 pedestrians who have been killed by drivers in 2023.
Pamela Manasse said she was hit by an e-bike rider in Manhattan last year and that it’s unfair that automated red light cameras don’t ticket e-bikes.
“We are all faced with e-vehicles riding on our sidewalks, driving illegally, often going faster than car speeds,” Manasse said at the rally. “They put all of us, our children, our elderly, our disabled, as I am now, in grave danger.”
Danny Harris, executive director of street safety group Transportation Alternatives, said the bill unfairly steers the blame for traffic violence away from drivers. He said an analysis from his group found no one has been killed by an e-bike rider in Holden’s district since he took office in 2018.
“If you wanted to address [street safety] , there’s a holistic approach,” Harris said. “When you engage with street design, when you look at how you take advantage of the tools that we already have, you can actually advance and fast track safety across the city.”
Harris said delivery apps should be held accountable for putting their workers at risk, and called for more regulation around the sale of e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries.
The rally came a day after Mayor Eric Adams announced a pilot program to establish public charging stations where delivery workers can park and charge their e-bike batteries.
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