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Easing On Down the Road
Solving NY’s chaotic and dangerous ebike problem
New Yorkers have had just about enough of food delivery app ebikers running lights, riding on the sidewalk, and traveling the wrong way on a one-way street. And they’re not gonna take it anymore!
Having voiced their concern and discontent en masse, the public has convinced Mayor Adams to do something about it. And in response, Adams has implemented two initiatives to address the problem.
First, he has mandated that Lyft, which runs the Citibike program, must reduce the system’s ebike top speed from 18 mph to 15.
Additionally and possibly more significantly, the Mayor directed the city’s cops to go full court press on ebike (and pedal bike) lawbreakers via issuing them not just traffic tickets for infractions — but criminal citations for which they have to appear in court. The big question is whether any of this is improving the situation.
I, as somebody who has biked everywhere in the city for 35 years, and currently delivers food for DoorDash (with 7700 deliveries to date), feel qualified to accurately report what’s happening on the street now that the heat is on.
First up, the reduction in the speed at which a Citibike will take its renter: From my perspective, Citibikers are the biggest hazard…
