sk8norcal
1 MW
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576319074060030458.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Electric bikes are increasingly found zipping noiselessly along city streets. They are particularly popular among restaurant delivery workers.
There's just one thing: They're illegal.
Now, some community groups are pushing for police to crack down on electric bikes. They say that the battery-powered bikes, which can travel at higher speeds than most human-powered bikes, pose a hazard.
Restaurant deliverymen zipping around town on electric bikes are an increasingly common sight, so Urban Gardner Columnist Ralph Gardner set out to test a new breed of electric bikes on busy Midtown streets.
In Forest Hills and Rego Park in Queens, members of the 112th Precinct Community Council have asked police to step up education and enforcement with regard to all illegal cycling practices, especially electric bikes.
On the Upper East Side, the local community board recently passed a resolution forwarded to local legislators recommending that e-bikes be treated as automobiles, requiring them to be registered.
"There's a general concern that people have had about bicycles with delivery people riding on the sidewalk and going the wrong way and generally creating problems like that," said Charles Warren, co-chairman of Community Board 8's transportation committee. "The e-bikes, which we've seen more of certainly in our area, just add to that because they obviously go faster."
A state bill introduced in the Assembly and Senate would do exactly the opposite. The bill, which has previously been unsuccessful, would amend vehicle and traffics laws to classify electric-assisted bikes with a power output of no more than 1,000 watts and a maximum speed of 20 miles an hour as a bike.
The bill overwhelmingly passed the Assembly; a Senate version is being amended, said a spokesman for the sponsor, Sen. Martin Malave Dilan.
Restaurants say the electric bikes are good for business, expanding delivery zones and producing quicker deliveries. Victor Tu, manager of Lili's Noodle Shop on the Upper East Side, said five of his delivery employees bought e-bikes a few months ago. "It's faster and it saves time and energy," he said. "I told them to be careful, safety is No. 1. So far, no complaints."
View Full Image
BIKESjp
Michael Nagle for The Wall Street Journal
The rise in electric bikes, popular with restaurants for deliveries, has stirred opposition in parts of the city.
BIKESjp
BIKESjp
Under federal law, electric bikes fall under the same classification as regular bikes so long as they go no faster than 20 miles an hour and are powered by a motor with less than 750 watts. But the state's Department of Motor Vehicles has concluded that the contraptions are neither motor vehicle nor bike.
City police say the bikes are legal to buy and ride on private property only. A spokeswoman said that bike citations aren't broken down by type of bike and that most tickets aren't solely for riding an electric bike but for other violations, as well.
"They're sold in New York," said the spokeswoman. "You can legally buy them, you just can't legally ride them on the street."
According to city code, anyone operating a motorized scooter—which, the spokeswoman said, includes electric bikes—is liable for a $500 civil penalty.
Bert Cebular, the owner of NYCeWheels, an Upper East Side shop that sells electric bikes, said none of his customers have complained about getting tickets. "It's a gray area," he said. "But none of our customers have ever been asked about it or ticketed or anything."
Mr. Cebular sells higher-end electric bikes. He used to have delivery employees as customers until several shops in Chinatown, where e-bikes have become quite popular, opened up. Now, he caters to commuters and weekend riders.
Kate Fu works at MNC E-Bikes in Chinatown and said her clients are mostly deliverymen. She sells the bikes anywhere from $550 to $1,180 and said the bikes go up to 25 miles an hour. "It makes their work easier," she said. "It's very environmentally friendly—they should encourage people to [ride] it."
A deliveryman, who gave his last name as Xhang but no first name, said his electric bike makes his life easier and allows him to get food to customers during rush hour before they start complaining.
"When I use it, it's much faster and easier than a regular bike," Mr. Xhang said, according to Ms. Fu's translation. "A regular bike you have to pedal all the time."
Mr. Xhang got his e-bike last year. The one ticket he got was for going the wrong way up a one-way street, which he said also helps him reach customers faster. He said if the officer tried to tell him the bike was illegal he didn't understand because of the language barrier.
Michael Murphy, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group for biking, said in an email that the group is "generally supportive" of e-bikes because they make bicycling more accessible.
"But they also enable speeds in excess of what's usually achieved by a pedal-powered bike and that can be riskier," he added.
The group is drafting a policy but believes e-bikes "should be subject to additional legal safety requirements."
—Alison Fox contributed to this article.
Write to Sumathi Reddy at sumathi.reddy@wsj.com