BY BEN VERDE
The scooter-sharing service
Revel announced on
Tuesday that it will shut down
service in New York City until
further notice after two riders
died while riding the popular
electric-scooters.
“Starting today NYC service
will be shut down until
further notice,” the company
wrote on Twitter. “We’re reviewing
and strengthening
our rider accountability with
city offi cials, and we look forward
to seeing you again in
the near future.”
The company’s safety
features have come under
scrutiny as its popularity
has grown, which was compounded
after the death of
CBS2 reporter Nina Kapur,
who became the service’s fi rst
fatality after falling off the
back of a scooter in Greenpoint.
A second rider, 32-yearold
Jeremy Malave, died in
Queens on July 28 after colliding
with a light pole on Woodhaven
Boulevard at 3:15 am
just hours before Revel made
their announcement.
During his daily press
briefi ng, Mayor Bill de Blasio
confi rmed that the city would
work with the micro-mobility
company to beef up its safety
measures.
“This is an unacceptable
state of affairs,” the mayor
said. “We will work with
Revel. We will not allow them
to reopen unless we are convinced
it can be done safely.”
The company issued a stern
warning to riders shortly
before the tragic incidents,
announcing that it had suspended
COURIER LIFE,4 JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2020
over 1,000 riders for
not following the rules of the
road, and scolding its customers
for the reckless riding that
has accompanied the service’s
rising popularity.
The email said riders had
been riding in bike lanes,
running red lights, riding in
parks, and not wearing their
helmets. The company encouraged
users to report other
riders they saw breaking the
rules.
Revel fi rst rolled out in
Bushwick in 2018, before expanding
to other parts of
Brooklyn, Queens, and the
Bronx. It now counts over
300,000 riders citywide and
has seen its popularity grow
as New Yorkers continue to
avoid the subway due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
Manhattan Rep. Adriano
Espaillat had called for the
service to be pulled from city
streets following Kapur’s
death, arguing that the motorized
vehicles were too dangerous
for city streets, and
writing in a letter to the Department
of Motor Vehicles
that the service should be
barred from operating until
it has “adequate and updated
regulations and training and
safety measures.”
“It has become clear that
there are serious safety implications
for Revel users, other
vehicles on the road, and bystanders,”
Espaillat wrote.
Brooklyn Paper reporter Kevin Duggan trying out a Revel scooter last
summer. Photo by Trey Pentecost
HIT THE BRAKES
Revel suspends service after second fatality
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