Testimony of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander Before New York City Department of Transportation, Hearing on Speed Limits for E-Bikes, E-Scooters, and Pedal-Assist Commercial Bicycles

On behalf of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, we appreciate this opportunity to testify against the proposed rule instituting a 15 mph speed limit on e-bikes, e-scooters, and pedal-assist commercial bicycles. Since their statewide legalization in 2020, electric micromobility has given tens of thousands of New Yorkers a convenient, low-cost way to get around the city and make a living. Much of this growth is attributable to the rise of the delivery app industry, which has fueled reliance on e-bikes among over 62,000 contract workers, with little accountability for the app companies profiting from those trips. While thoughtful policies to regulate micromobility are indeed necessary, the proposed speed limit change represents a counterproductive and overly punitive approach that is will not meaningfully improve street safety.

The Comptroller’s Office released Street Safety in the Era of Micromobility, which documents the practice of delivery app companies requiring workers to complete high volumes of orders as quickly as possible, and deactivating accounts of workers who do not complete a certain number of orders within a fixed time. These unreasonable productivity requirements incentivize delivery workers to engage in risky riding behavior to meet their quotas or risk losing work. Lowering e- bike speed limits, without addressing these features of the delivery industry, scapegoats individual workers while leaving the incentive structure for unsafe riding behavior in place.

In addition to delivery workers, the population of e-bike riders includes many regular commuters and recreational riders, many of whom have been affected by an NYPD initiative to criminalize e-bike riders for low-level traffic offenses over the past two months. This has created a double standard between e-bike riders and motorists, issuing criminal summonses to cyclists for violations for which a driver would only receive a civil penalty. This strategy has unnecessarily put hundreds of New Yorkers in the crosshairs of the criminal justice system, despite the reality that e-bikes are responsible for less than 3% of all injuries to pedestrians. Many cyclists riding regular bikes have also received criminal summonses under this initiative, despite its stated goal of targeting reckless riding by e-bikes.

There are several complexities in enforcing the proposed speed limit reduction that threaten its effectiveness as a safety measure while also potentially putting law-abiding cyclists in harm’s way. First, City Hall has not articulated a justification for setting different speed limits based on vehicle lanes or classification on the same roadway. Second, e-bike riders cannot gauge their exact speeds because they, unlike cars, do not have speedometers. Lastly, it can also be difficult to visually distinguish between an e-bike with pedal-assist and traditional bicycle. These challenges raise concerns about the City’s ability to apply and fairly enforce a lower speed limit for e-bikes, scooters, and pedal-assist bikes. Rather than attempting to implement and enforce a 15 mph speed limit on micromobility devices, the City must instead focus its efforts on advancing a licensing program to comprehensively regulate the delivery industry while investing in high-quality bicycle infrastructure, secure bike parking, and delivery loading zones to improve safety and stability on streets throughout the five boroughs.

Thank you for the consideration of our testimony.

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