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New York cracks down on E-Bikes

New York City steps up enforcement against e-bikes which are currently illegal to ride on the city streets

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city will ramp up enforcement against e-bikes, citing public safety concerns and complaints from neighborhood groups. Police will begin targeting not only people who ride e-bikes, but businesses whose employees use them for deliveries.

“E-bikes are illegal to operate in New York City and the NYPD is stepping up enforcement,” de Blasio said. “Those at the top of the food chain need to be held accountable. That’s why instead of merely targeting riders, we’re going after businesses that look the other way and leave their workers to shoulder the fine.”

The fine for anyone caught riding an e-bike in New York City is up to $500. Businesses caught using e-bikes could get hit with a $100 penalty for the first offense, and $200 for each subsequent offense.

e-bikes are legal to own in New York, but illegal to ride on the city streets. 

New York is singular in the U.S. for its treatment of e-bikes and elsewhere in the USA e-bikes integrate into existing transportation laws.

“That’s not smart policy,” says Paul Steely White, executive director of the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. “They're outlawing a legitimate mode of transportation. Lumping electric assist in with motor scooters is unfair to e-bike users, and it's not going to serve the mayor's goals of doubling bicycling by 2020—nor will it serve Vision Zero.”

New York cracks down on E-Bikes