As last-mile delivery volumes soar to meet escalating e-commerce demand, leaders in New York City are exploring ways to improve street safety and battery use by regulating the fleets of e-bikes, mopeds, and cargo bikes that carry those goods.
New York Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is now in discussions with the New York City Council to create a “New York City Department of Sustainable Delivery,” Adams said in his State of City address on Wednesday.
According to Adams, the department would be a first-in-the-nation regulatory entity that would consolidate work that is now spread out over multiple agencies. The new department would prioritize safety while harnessing the potential of these new forms of transportation.
Such a department would have to balance the competing needs of the various users and vehicles that populate any busy city street. In his verbal address, Adams said: “Public safety is also about safer streets for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and delivery workers. New Yorkers welcome the future of transit and new electronic technologies — but we cannot have mopeds speeding down our sidewalks and forcing people to jump out of the way. We must also protect the drivers and delivery workers who show up for New Yorkers at all times of day and in all kinds of weather.”
The proposed department would also have to strike a balance between cutting down the city’s carbon footprint—by encouraging electric motors over internal combustion engines—and regulating the powerful bicycle batteries that can sometimes overheat and catch fire.
“This department will also build on the work we have done to protect New Yorkers from the dangers of lithium-ion batteries,” Adams said. “Our administration banned the sale of uncertified e-vehicles and refurbished batteries, but with the Department of Sustainable Delivery, we will be able to do much more, including educating riders and enforcing safety standards for lithium-ion batteries.”
