Adam’s 15 MPH E-Bike Speed Cap Sparks Debates as City Faces Increasing Traffic Woes

Just as the first Democratic mayoral debate was about to start, Mayor Eric Adams, who was forgoing the party primary to run as an independent, dropped something of a bombshell: a proposal to limit e-bikes to a top speed of 15 MPH.

Since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, electric bikes have exploded in popularity across New York City, being embraced by delivery workers, commuters, and casual riders alike. Civilians pointed to their affordability, speed, and accessibility as factors that rendered them an effective public transportation alternative.

However, the rapid growth has also sparked significant public concerns about safety, with many believing that the current state of electric biking has become hazardous for pedestrians. As citizens have returned to the streets in increasing numbers, the presence of electric vehicles appearing on sidewalks, traveling the wrong way against traffic, and ignoring red lights has worried many pedestrians.

In recent years, electric bikes have come under increasing scrutiny, with traffic deaths reaching an all-time high in the first half of 2024. According to Transportation Alternatives, 127 total fatalities were recorded, with 61 of them pedestrian victims — a 27% increase from the previous year. Additionally, 12 cyclists were killed, more than 20 percent above Vision Zero’s recorded average. The NYC DOT confirmed these figures as of July 1, 2024.

Adams said he proposed the change to “make our streets safer.” Meanwhile, the NYPD has been drawing criticism from bike advocates for its move to begin issuing criminal summonses in late April to riders of e-bikes and pedal-powered bikes for violations, including failure to stop at red lights.

On the day of the announcement about the new speed limit, Citi Bikes general manager Patrick Knoth said the city had not informed them of the proposed change and that he would express deep concern about it. However, in a statement the next day, Knoth announced that Citi Bikes would change their speed cap to 15 miles per hour after Adams’s Deputy Mayor, Randy Mastro, sent a letter to Citi Bikes’ parent company, Lyft, declaring the current speed cap “an emergency threat to life and property.”

On the other hand, some social media posters saw the change to limit speed limits as not going far enough.

”This is not a solution. It’s time to license, register, and insure!” user Anthony D posted on NextDoor.

“I completely agree with Anthony D and have been saying this for years– e-bikes are above the law and this must be stopped!” replied another. “License, register, insure and TICKET offenders.”

Questions abound about how the city will enforce the new regulations if it succeeds in lowering the current speed limit from 20 MPH to 15 MPH.

Since e-bikes are not registered like cars–and do not possess physical plates or any form of unique ID––enforcing a speed limit is nearly impossible, as police have no easy way of linking a ticket to a rider.

Additionally, Councilmember Bob Holden, seeking to enforce registration and plates on electric vehicles, believes that symbolic limits will do nothing to stop the issue.

”It’s good that people acknowledge the e-bike chaos on our streets, but it’s nowhere near enough,” Holden said. “These riders have been ignoring traffic laws for years, and without license plates and real enforcement, the danger will only grow.”

The NYPD said it begun issuing criminal summonses (C-summonses) for serious e-bike violations such as sidewalk riding, red-light running, and reckless operation, because it was felt that there needed to be something beyound a mere traffic ticket to bicyclists to comply.

The criminal summonses require those cited to enter a plea in criminal court. Although the fine could be as high as $190, criminal court judges have been dismissing many of them because police filled out the citation incorrectly, according to Streetsblog, a pro-bike news site. A poster on the NextDoor app who was hit with a criminal summonses said on the day he went to court, many of the violations were being reduced from a criminal complaint to a “disturbing the peace” violation which only carried a $25 fine and no criminal record.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said traffic tickets often went unnoticed or ignored–due to the same license plate issues. But those new criminal summonses do not address the issue of speeding, which remains central to many of the complaints about electric bikes.

Ultimately, while Adams’ proposal is seen as a step in the positive direction for some, many New Yorkers question whether regulation alone is enough. As traffic violence reaches record highs, there is a growing belief that laws without enforcement hold no meaning.