editorial
To ‘E’ or not to ‘E’, that is the question?
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,12 DECEMBER 27-JANUARY 2, 2020 BTR
BY KYLE VUILLE
As a former bike delivery
courier in Charleston, South
Carolina, I understand the
courier business.
For delivery bikers in
NYC, e-bikes have become
their ‘Hi Ho Silver’ trusty
stead.
I just recently moved to
NYC in the past month and
all I see are these e-bikes
and scooters. And when I say
“see”, I mean see, because
you can’t hear them.They are
the silent killers of the road.
What I have seen in the
actual cycling industry, particularly
in the mountain
biking and city commmuting
cycling communities, is
a pedal assist. With a pedal
assist bike, one must pedal
to generate the power in the
bike to get the desired boost.
Now, this is where the gray
area begins,
The throttle powered ebikes
require no actual pedaling
unless the battery on
the bike completely dies.
They are essentially scooters.
I am not an advocate for
them.
Nobody can deny the environmental
benefi ts of the
electric powered bicycles,
but city and state laws don’t
protect e-bike users.
NYPD issues tickets and
have even confi scates e-bikes
leaving a lot of these couriers
without means of income.
A lot of the e-bikers are
immigrants and Senator Jessica
Ramos sees the ticketing
and confi scations as an act of
discrimination.
The gray area between
what identifi es as an e-bike,
pedal assist, and e-moped are
so convoluted, it could a person’s
head spin.
Recently, a bill by Senator
Ramos, has spelled out
what constitutes as an e-bike
or not, and giving the appropriate
legalization for them
within the city in order to
stop the ticketing and confi scations.
The opposition or counterargument
to the bill is definitely
surrounded around
the public’s safety and what
is a right or a privilege as far
as having the authority to
be in control of one of these
bikes.
The e-Bike Bill was passed
by the both houses of the New
York legislature, but needs
to be signed by Governor
Cuomo before the end of the
year to become law.
Will passage of this bill
create more mayhem or will
further regulations cut back
e-bike use?
So, what is the real answer?
Without the law in
place, delivery guys will
have to decide whether or not
to continue riding on thin ice
like I once did.
There are no clear rules or regulations for throttle-controlled e-bikes such as this one pictured here.
Photo courtesy of Jim Henderson
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