For New York City’s e-bike and scooter riders, it’s time to slow down.
The city’s new 15 mph speed limit for these vehicles takes effect Friday. Officials say it will help improve street safety among the soaring number of delivery workers and residents who use the zippy bikes to get around, as well as pedestrians and drivers.
Mayor Eric Adams’ office said Friday officials will initially focus on educating cyclists about the new rules before more strictly enforcing them. The NYPD will issue warnings to first-time offenders who break this speed limit, as well as monitor collision data to inform deployments, officials said.
“To be clear, this isn’t about criminalization; it’s about creating safer, fairer conditions for all New Yorkers,” Adams said in a statement.
The city will install new signage and do street outreach about the rules along busy bike corridors, officials said. Delivery apps and worker organizations will also be given educational materials about the change.
Regular bikes are not subject to the new speed limit because they are lighter than e-bikes, and can continue traveling up to 25 mph, according to the guidelines.
“I personally like this slower pace,” Citi Bike rider John Boschetto said Friday along Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue. “It feels a lot safer.”
Delivery worker Camilo Guit said the policy will make it more likely for both pedestrians and cyclists to travel more calmly on city streets — though he said didn't know about the change until a Gothamist reporter told him.
An e-bike delivery worker rides through Times Square in Manhattan on Feb. 21, 2023.
“I think it’s good because a lot of people don’t respect [the rules] … and a lot of accidents happen,” delivery cyclist Adolfo Tui said along the same route. The restaurant he works for gave him a pamphlet about the new speed limit, he added.
Adams first proposed the rule change in June, saying it aligned with similar speed limits imposed in European bike lanes and came in response to New Yorkers’ concerns. The NYPD had cracked down earlier this year on cyclists who break traffic laws, issuing criminal summonses in an attempt to rein in behavior like running red lights and riding the wrong way.
At least 638 people were injured and 17 were killed in crashes involving e-bikes last year, according to city data. An estimated 65,000 deliveristas travel on city streets, officials and advocates say, and e-bike sales nationwide have skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 60-year-old woman died earlier this month after she was struck near the Brooklyn Navy Yard by two people on a type of e-bike marketed as having maximum speeds around 30 mph. Such high-speed e-bikes are required to have a license plate and be registered with the state, which wasn’t the case in this instance, officials said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
