Transportation Alternatives, Worker’s Justice Project, Street Safety and Environmental Advocates Urge City Council to Reject Costly, Ineffective E-Bike Licensing Bill

Intro 606 is nearly identical to Intro 758, which failed to pass last session.

99% of pedestrians killed in traffic violence were struck by drivers of cars and trucks.

Major cities that introduced bike licensing laws found them ineffective and repealed them.

NEW YORK — After Council Member Robert Holden introduced Intro 606-2024 — a nearly identical version of his legislation from last session that would require licenses and registration for all e-bike riders, including pedal-assist Citi Bike riders — a coalition of safe streets, climate justice, and immigrant rights activists led by Transportation Alternatives, Worker’s Justice Project, Open Plans, the New York League of Conservation Voters, and StreetsPAC — called on the City Council to reject this costly, ineffective, and bureaucratic nightmare of a bill. Other signees include leading organizations such as Make the Road, Street Vendors Project, Align NY, and more. 

If Intro 606 passes, New York City taxpayers will be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to set up an “e-bike licensing” program — which would not make anyone safer and would pave the way for license laws for everyone who rides a bike — even traditional ones. Researchers have found the enforcement of bike laws such as this are shown to be discriminatory and to directly reduce the number of people who choose to ride a bike. Bike licensing has been attempted and subsequently repealed as ineffective in other large cities, including Toronto, Houston, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and San Jose. The City Council should not adopt an idea that is proven to be expensive, ineffective, and harmful. 

Intro 606-2024 would mean that the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who ride bikes every day — whether to take their kids to school, commute to work, or pay their bills — would need to get “licensed” to do so. 

This bill would disproportionately harm the 65,000 New Yorkers who rely on bikes for work. Silicon Valley delivery app companies profit off demanding an impossible volume of high-speed deliveries without the resources, training, or tools to do the job safely – putting these workers, and all New Yorkers, at risk. Delivery workers are predominantly immigrants of color – New Yorkers who need support, not more red tape. 

Instead, the City Council should focus on measures that actually achieve street safety, including: requiring moped licenses and registration be shown at the point of sale; ensuring safer batteries are provided, used, and maintained with swap programs; regulating the companies that profit off creating unsafe conditions on our streets; and expanding and improving bicycle infrastructure by building more protected bike lanes and then protecting those lanes with automated enforcement. 

“Let’s be very clear: Intro 606 will not make our streets safer. The bill is a bureaucratic nightmare that does not address the very real safety issues on our streets. Instead, Intro 606 will lead to the over-policing of New Yorkers of color, while stopping the widespread adoption of environmentally-friendly e-bikes,” said Elizabeth Adams, Deputy Executive Director for Public Affairs at Transportation Alternatives. “We urge the City Council to reject Intro 606 and regulate big Silicon Valley tech companies who put their shareholders above the safety of New Yorkers, including delivery workers. Our elected officials can and must regulate delivery app companies, provide safe batteries for workers, and implement bike and pedestrian safety measures across New York City.”

“The Worker's Justice Project and Los Deliveristas Unidos strongly oppose any legislation that would require e-bike licensing. While well-intentioned, e-bike licensing would create more problems than it solves, adding bureaucratic hurdles without tackling the core issues of safety and fairness. E-bike licensing would put the burden of penalty on delivery workers rather than trying to regulate the app companies, whose algorithms are pushing workers to make dangerous decisions. We must instead focus on advancing solutions that empower workers, enhance public safety and foster a more sustainable and just urban ecosystem," said Ligia Guallpa, Co-Executive Director, Worker’s Justice Project.

Families for Safe Streets member Rosamond Gianutsos said, “I am a senior citizen who relies on an e-bike to get around. E-bikes are essential mobility devices for New Yorkers like me, and we need more of them, not more restrictions to access them. To end traffic violence, New York’s leaders must advance legislation that will actually prevent crashes: Street redesigns, regulating app companies, and providing safe equipment to delivery workers. Intro 606 does none of this, and the City Council must reject this legislation.”

“There are a number of constructive steps the City Council can take to help improve the safety of the city’s streets, but requiring licensing and registration for e-bikes is certainly not among them. Licensing and other mandates have a long history of depressing cycling numbers, and fewer people on bikes makes streets less safe for everyone. We look forward to working with the Council and the Adams administration to advance more constructive initiatives that protect pedestrians and cyclists alike,” said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC.

“This bill simply doesn’t address the issue it claims to,” said Sara Lind, Co-Executive Director at Open Plans. “New York’s streets are chaotic because of our infrastructure and any approach must center that. Instead of burdening everyday New Yorkers with a licensing law, the City should be taking responsibility for creating an environment that encourages safe cycling and balanced streets. We’ll make more progress by pursuing plans for wider, protected micromobility lanes, bike corrals, public charging and safe gathering space alongside stricter regulation for illegal devices. A license plate won’t protect New Yorkers from sudden encounters with speeding cars or blocked bike lanes; well-designed streets will. We urge Councilmembers to reject Intro 606.”

Alia Soomro, Deputy Director of New York City Policy for the New York League of Conservation Voters said, “When it comes to crafting a safe and effective micro-mobility policy, New York City needs real solutions, not bogus restrictions. Intro 606 not only misidentifies the problem, it will do nothing to make our streets safer while at the same time hampering the ability of tens of thousands of New Yorkers to earn a living — a disproportionate number of them coming from low-income communities — while making the lives of countless others more difficult with red tape. For the New York League of Conservation Voters, it’s an emphatic “no” on Intro 606.”