The City Council wants to get the fastest e-bikes off the street.

Twenty Council members announced on Wednesday a bill that would ban the sale of the so-called Class 3 e-bikes, a throttle-controlled, 25-mile-per-hour bike that is currently only legal in the city. If the bill passes, there won’t be any street-legal e-bikes that exceed 20 miles per hour.

The bill’s sponsor, Council Member Crystal Hudson (D-Crown Heights), told Streetsblog that she introduced this bill because of complaints she gets from seniors.  

“I’ve heard from a lot of constituents and people around the city about fears of e-bikes going too fast, experiences people have had, injuries they’ve incurred. But I wanted to think of a way to address the concerns that wouldn’t actually criminalize the bike riders,” she said.

The bill only bans the sale of such bikes, which are popular with the city’s 80,000 delivery workers. Workers who already have Class-3 bikes can continue to ride them and won’t be penalized for owning them or stopped on the street by police.

But what is this all about? Why ban a class of electric bike that the state legislature specifically legalized in 2020 in part to legalize bikes already being used by delivery workers? Let The Explainer give you the skinny:

Hudson’s bill sounds pretty basic. What’s the word on the street?

The bill has broad support, bringing together the pro-bike Transportation Alternatives and conservative anti-bike Council Member Joann Ariola (R-Howard Beach). 

“By phasing out the fastest e-bikes at the point of sale, we can protect pedestrians and cyclists without adding even more to the workload of the already overburdened NYPD,” said Ariola.

Cycling advocates stressed that 20 miles per hour is plenty. 

“Holding e-bikes to this standard keeps riders safe while also helping pedestrians feel more comfortable and confident sharing New York City’s streets,” said Melinda Hanson, co-founder of the E-Mobility Project.

And the bill’s list of sponsors is wide ranging, including Hudson and Ariola, plus Council members Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Rockaway), Chris Marte (D-Chinatown), Keith Powers (D-East Side), Gale Brewer (D-Upper West Side), Diana Ayala (D-East Harlem), Oswald Feliz (D-Bronx), Sandra Ung (D-Flushing), Tiffany Cabán (D-Astoria), Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights), Nantasha Williams (D-Jamaica), Lynn Schulman (D-Rego Park), Lincoln Restler (D-Williamsburg), Alexa Avilés (D-Sunset Park), Rita Joseph (D-Flatbush), Chris Banks (D-East New York), Susan Zhuang (D-Bensonhurst), Mercedes Narcisse (D-Canarsie), and Kamillah Hanks (D-Staten Island).

How did super fast e-bikes come about?

Currently, Class 3 e-bikes are only available in New York City and are banned in the rest of New York State. And under federal law Class 3 e-bikes are considered a motor vehicle, not a bike.

The bike most popular with delivery workers is Class 3. Photo: Sophia Lebowitz

Right now, there are three classes of e-bikes in New York State: 

  • Class 1: Known as a “pedal assist” e-bike, this bike’s electric assist capabilities only work while the rider is pedaling. There is no motorcycle-like throttle, and the bikes must stop boosting the rider’s speed once at 20 miles per hour. Electric Citi Bikes are Class 1. 
  • Class 2: These bikes have a throttle so the rider does not have to pedal in order to accelerate, but the bikes are capped at 20 miles per hour. 
  • Class 3: These are the same as Class 2, but can get to 25 miles per hour. They are only legal in New York City.

Why does NYC have this special category?

Throttle e-bikes were legalized in New York State in 2020, after a surprising flip-flop from then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who had previously vetoed a bill to legalize e-bikes.

Class 3 bikes were legalized in the city because of their popularity with delivery workers, many of whom were using the popular Arrow-10. After legalization, the market was flooded with poorly made bikes sold to vulnerable delivery workers. Companies such as Fly E-bike skirted safety regulations, as Streetsblog reported.

“Thousands of cheap e-bikes with unsafe speed capability and low-quality batteries were made by a few foreign companies and sold to a vulnerable population,” according to a report by PeopleForBikes. “These low-quality e-bikes and batteries were sold not through traditional bike shops, but through e-bike stores that popped up all over the city to cash in on the growing demand for food delivery.”

Didn’t the mayor try to reduce e-bike speeds?

Over the summer, Mayor Adams and his police commissioner Jessica Tisch began a crackdown on cycling, upping mere traffic tickets for some violations to criminal summonses. At the same time, he also proposed a citywide 15-mile-per-hour speed limit for e-bikes.

The separate speed limit for just e-bikes was puzzling to many transportation experts. New Yorkers were left to wonder how the NYPD would enforce the rule, and the mayoral announcement placed more blame then answered questions.

The mayor’s office released multiple propaganda videos on social media which drove up fear around these bikes. The city also ordered Lyft to reduce the speed of its electric Citi Bikes, and the company quickly complied, slowing down speeds from 18 miles per hour to 15, yet not reducing the per-minute fees on the now longer rides.

But e-bike riders cause a minuscule number of injuries, so what actual safety issue is the Council addressing?

The word safety comes up 10 times in the press release announcing the legislation and its name, “Ride Safe, Ride Right,” implies that these Class 3 bikes are inherently dangerous. The reality, as Streetsblog has reported time and again, is that they simple are not and that cars, simply are.

The statistical threat of e-bikes pales in comparison to the traffic violence drivers wreak on New Yorkers, with the former accounting for 1.2 percent of all traffic injuries and 2.7 percent of all fatalities last year and car and truck drivers were responsible for 99.96 percent of all reported pedestrian injuries in the first three months of 2025, according to the NYPD.

And even as it takes up a ban on a type of e-bike, the City Council is still sitting on its power to lower the car speed limit to 20 miles per hour, a power granted by the state legislature under the so-called Sammy’s Law in 2024.

Why is speed an issue?

Delivery workers prefer faster e-bikes so they can meet the demands of the delivery app companies for whom they work as independent contractors. Worker advocacy groups do support the bill, but point out that it must be coupled with further app industry regulation to make a real difference. 

Some delivery workers have turned to subscription services to get around, JOCO bikes are Class 1. Photo: Sophia Lebowitz

“[The bill] is an important step forward in building a comprehensive safety approach that pairs common sense measures with meaningful reforms to the app delivery industry, including protecting workers from the threat of unjust deactivations and algorithms that compel them to maximize speed at the expense of their own safety,” said Ligia Guallpa, the executive director of Worker’s Justice Project, which includes Los Deliveristas Unidos. 

There must be something else going on here, right?

Hudson is running to be the next Council Speaker, a position that has immense power. Speaker hopefuls must gain support from a majority of Council members, and e-bikes have been a hot-button issue where progressives, like Hudson, have clashed with moderates, like Upper East Side Council Member Julie Menin, a supporter of a proposal to require e-bikes to be registered. Experts oppose Council Member Bob Holden’s Intro 606, but many Council members have signed on, adding pressure on progressives to “do” something, even if e-bikes are not a demonstrable public safety threat.

But if e-bikes aren’t dangerous, what is actually driving this policy change?

Well, in short, random complaints. The criminal crackdown on cyclists revealed just how far the administration will go to calm people who complain at community board hearings of “feeling” disorder on the streets. But it’s not about actual data. The NYPD has never provided Streetsblog with evidence that e-bikes comprise a public safety crisis. And we’ve asked.

Class 3 e-bikes are the most powerful, so will other e-bike users, like moms and dads who just want to schlep their kids to soccer, be affected?

There are plenty of Class 1 and 2 options for those looking to use them for commuting, taking kids to school, or work, like this one from Rad Power Bikes, which is Class 2. And many cargo bikes are Class 1 because they are pedal-assist, not throttle controlled. Plus, the policy is just for point of sale, so any bikes that were purchased before can still be used.

So, be honest, this ban on the sale of Class 3 bikes isn’t really such a big deal, right?

Right. But it could lead some delivery workers to shift from electric bikes to gas-powered mopeds, which are faster, heavier and worse for the environment. And those devices are illegal in bike lanes, forcing delivery workers to put themselves in danger in the roadway … or risk tickets (and frighten pedestrians and cyclists) by riding in the bike lanes.