I haven't said much about electric bikes (e-bikes) on this blog. I have nothing against them: I simply have no experience with them.
They are often touted as a "green" alternative to driving. That's probably true, but I don't expect people to use them instead of their cars for long trips or if they have to carry a lot. Strictly based on my own observations, I'd say that most people who are riding them to work or wherever are using them as an alternative to mass transportation, walking or a traditional human-powered bicycle, not an automobile.
I also see a fair number of people who seem to be riding them recreationally. Here in New York City, however, the largest number of e-bike riders seem to be delivery workers of one kind or another. E-bikes are faster than regular bicycles, at least for most people, so workers can make more deliveries in less time. That's no small consideration, as many workers are paid per delivery.
Another thing I've noticed is that many of those delivery workers are older than ones I've seen before the advent of e-bikes. My guess is that the majority are immigrants, many of whom don't speak English or have other marketable skills or credentials recognized in this city or country. Some are breadwinners, not only for their spouses or partners and kids, but also for extended families, whether here or in their birth countries. For them, e-bikes are a form of life support, if you will.
It also happens that a good number of those workers live in public housing, a.k.a. "the projects."
Thus, the New York City Housing Authority's proposal is stirring up a hornet's nest of controversy. The rationale for it is the Fire Department's report stating that, to date, 104 fires have been caused by lithium-ion batteries, the power source of electric bikes.
In NYCHA's proposal, "residents and their guests may not keep or charge e-bikes or e-batteries in apartments or in common areas of NYCHA buildings." The agency defines "common areas" as "included but not limited to stairs, halls, laundries, community rooms, storage rooms, walks, drives, playgrounds and parking areas." In effect, NYCHA wants to ban e-bikes on all of its property. Workers wonder whether this will cause them to be targeted if they even enter the grounds of a NYCHA complex to make a delivery.
Nathaniel Hill won't be able to keep his e-bike under a NYCHA proposal. Photo by Noah Martz, for Streetsblog.
While it's true that there is a fire hazard, and a fire can cause a greater number of casualties in a densely-populated housing complex, residents and advocates see the proposal as discriminatory, as electric cars are allowed to park in NYCHA lots and Citibike e-bikes park in docks adjacent to NYCHA buildings. Also, the proposal, if enacted would put delivery workers who live in NYCHA buildings in an impossible situation. "Nobody should be forced to choose between keeping their housing or keeping their job," said Transportation Alternatives' Senior Organizer Juan Restrepo. He suggests that Mayor Eric Adams come up with other solutions, such as public charging stations and secure parking areas.
