New York to legalize ebikes?

[dequinox]

It appears legislators at the state level have done so, but the city still will retain the right to ban them:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2019/06/17/new-york-legalizes-controversial-e-bikes-and-scooters/amp/

 

[dogman dan]

Cool, the manhattan lobby has killed the state law legalizing e bikes year after year, for like a decade or more. Taxis, Uber, etc want them out of manhattan for sure.


Don't hold your breath for legal e bikes on the island, but at least you can now ride upstate.

 

[dequinox]

It doesn't affect me a whole lot since I live in Oregon, but I've always found it annoying to know that NY banned ebikes, as it seemed counter-productive to climate goals. Cars sitting in cities idling with the AC on accounts for some significant percentage of the CO2 emissions we're supposed to be reducing, and my thought has always been that EVs idling with the AC on cause a fraction of the problem (even considering where the power comes from). Ebikes are far smaller fraction of that problem. Why not thrust them into delivery and other services, like light taxi/uber style services? If you can replace a car with even two ebikes, they take of 1/2 of the road space.

 

[kcuf]

have been thrust into deliveries

large fleet running around manhattan

lwb cargo bikes

bbshd

some pulling trailers too


perhaps illegal

but cops like ebikes

more than cars trucks


politicians wanna figure out

how to get paid


always vote out incumbents

and elected judges

 

[wheelbender6]

I visited Manhattan last week and saw e-bikes ridden on the streets with impunity.

 

[dogman dan]

Taxi lobby not paying a weekly envelope to beat cops I guess.

Cool to see cops not enforce stupid laws always. Of course, if you are a dick on an e bike, you should be stopped. Just like dicks in cars.

 

[dequinox]

...Just like dicks in cars.

I think I've seen that show..... Oh it's Top Gear!

Here's a story about dicks ON cars... https://atlbanana.com/apd-begins-crackdown-on-snowcockalypse/

 

[17mph18a]

The devil is in the detail. The ban on carrying children as passengers on ebikes needs writing out, you can carry a child passenger on a motorcycle in NY. Banning all ebikes from the Hudson River Greenway could cause problems its a north-south commuting route. Hopefully police will stop harassing food delivery riders, but why invent an NYC-only 25mph "Class 3" speed limit?

 

[aroundqube]

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/06/19/ebike-escooter-vote-today/

 

[markz]

This is what I'd do if I was living in gun/no health ins country.
Buy a rear motor, install rear rack, install large pannier bags that cover entire motor, use pedal assist mode or fake pedal. Install battery in the rear bag, buy an ultra small Grintech Phaserunner controller. And ride very reasonably!

 

[dogman dan]

Exactly. I ride this all the time on MUP's where there are no motors signs all over. NOT riding like a dick, I get nothing but smiles from the police. I suspect some delivery riders in NYC earned the hassle. Too bad when you hop on the same bike to work though.

 

[aroundqube]

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s5294 , https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2019/06/21/bikes-scooters-albany-new-york-state-cdta.html