NY Governor Blocks Electric Bikes and Scooters Legalization

The NYPD used potentially deadly force to stop a cyclist for running a red light, legal for cyclists in many cities.

These days, if you ask a New Yorker about Governor Cuomo, you’re going to get an earful. From budget restrictions holding up progress for the crumbling subway system—still relying on technology from the early 1900’s—to directing necessary funding to unnecessary additional policing of turnstile jumpers, Cuomo hasn’t been popular with NYC residents. His decision the day after Christmas won’t make him any more popular. An overwhelmingly popular bipartisan bill, passed by New York lawmakers, would have finally legalized electric bikes and scooters in the state. Cuomo just blocked the bill. His reasoning? Helmets. His actual reasoning is far more petty.

Electric Bikes and Scooters Already in Use

I work in New York. I also work in tech. Between the two, I have a large office full of coworkers who appreciate dressing casually for the job and being on the bleeding edge of technology. That leads to many people using alternative forms of transportation without caring about attire or appearance. I ride a skateboard or longboard to work most days. Others use electric skateboards, scooters, bikes, One Wheels, unicycles, and more. Transportation is growing in diversity, and we’re seeing a lot of it from young professionals, pushed out of city centers by impossibly high rents, and looking for better ways to get around.

Photo: Yeong-Ung Yang

New Yorkers don’t cook. Our kitchens are small, we don’t have effective means of getting a lot of groceries from the stores to our apartments, and we’re surrounded by restaurants that deliver. If you order Seamless, chances are your delivery guy will arrive on an electric bike. These are sometimes pedal assist bikes, but most operate with a throttle, allowing electric-only travel. Every single one of these delivery riders are breaking the law. Still, there’s no better method than small transport in the city, like a bike or scooter. They’re fast and they can dodge car traffic. They require physical fitness though. Imagine covering many miles, often uphill, on a bike or push scooter! You’d be exhausted in no time! Electric bikes allow these riders to relax a bit more. They’re virtually required for their jobs. However, if a police officer feels like it, they could fine every one of these delivery people, often impounding their bikes and stranding them wherever they are.

Despite so many people relying on these delivery riders, and many others using these vehicles for their own commutes, lawmakers have been slow to alleviate their fines. Do our politicians represent us?

The Dire Need for Alternative Transportation

Source: https://dmv.ny.gov

New York is an old city, and it shows. The subway uses visual signals, a technology unchanged from the 1900’s, to control their trains. This system alone is responsible for many of the delays on the MTA. To put this into perspective, I’ve waited over 20 minutes before for a train, only to find the next three trains to roll up to the platform completely packed, people shoved in like sardines, gasping for air. I decided to skate over a mile to a different line and take a slightly less packed train. But not everyone has that luxury. Not everyone has a different option a mile away, can afford to waste the swipe they spent to get on the platform, or can even cover a mile or two without difficulty. The trains in New York are utterly broken, and operating worse than they did in the 1950’s, with equal ridership.

But our terrible trains aren’t the only problem. This city’s population is growing and the streets aren’t. More cars than ever are crowding our streets. A single car, often with just one person in it, takes up the space of at least 5 cyclists and many more pedestrians or skaters. New York’s car issues stem far beyond the capacity of our roads, but one thing is clear: since we can’t increase the size of our roads, we have to encourage alternative forms of transport.

Why Would Cuomo Block This?

Here is a copy of the e-bike / e-scooter veto message. The short version is that significant safety provisions were left out of the final version. This will be worked in next session. pic.twitter.com/HwD9k3E61T

— Rich Azzopardi (@RichAzzopardi) December 26, 2019

Helmets. According to one of Cuomo’s aides, it’s because the law doesn’t require helmet use. Of course, cities could have regulated this on their own, but he wanted it statewide, apparently. Bike riders, skateboarders, and anyone else on human-powered transport don’t actually have to wear helmets. I can, with little effort, get my longboard up to 20 MPH. A cyclist can easily exceed that as well. Many longboarders can go over 50MPH, and I myself have gone over 30MPH, easily. I’m not required to wear a helmet. Still, the electric functionality of these vehicles are often limited to under 30MPH. So why would they require helmets when those of us using human powered transport don’t? Furthermore, couldn’t lawmakers add helmet laws after ending the persecution of electric bike riders in the city, most of whom are already using helmets anyway?

(Side note: yes, I always wear a helmet when I ride.)

OK, Why is he Really Blocking This?

Political activist and actress Cynthia Nixon challenged Cuomo in a 2018 primary. He won, by his usual margin. Still, that’s surprising given her lack of experience in public office and lack of exposure during the campaign. It was a warning sign from New York City residents and progressives to the centrist Democrat governor: you’re not representing us. Some voted for him out of fear of a less experienced politician. I’m sure sexism and homophobia played a role as well. A relatively small campaign certainly didn’t help. Still, she did far better than anyone expected, beating out even the most positive polling by 5%. Small party and more progressive challengers have been getting about 35% of the primary vote. Establishment politicians like Cuomo saw the writing on the wall: they’re part of yesteryear’s Democratic party, and no longer represent their constituents well. 2022 could be a difficult year for Cuomo at this rate.

Since then he pushed legislature to double the threshold required for smaller political parties to get their candidates on New York ballots. This would hurt progressive and community-lead parties from competing with Democrats in New York. It was a defensive move from hardline centrist Democrats. State senator Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) spoke ill of his plan in the New York Times. She saw it as a proposition that would hurt New York efforts to turn more of the state blue, stating, “I honestly have never understood why it is that, electorally, the governor cannot seem and act as interested as we are in having as many Democrats in the State Legislature as possible.” Many candidates use smaller, community-focused parties as a stepping stone for larger offices, like that of governor. Then, they run under a large party, like the Democratic party. This is how parties evolve, move to represent their constituents, and grow. It’s also how a party like the Democratic party could pull left, leaving Cuomo behind.

Cuomo took offense.

Bikes and Politics?

Note the lack of train lines in Queens and Brooklyn compared to Manhattan, on the left.

Why should Cuomo’s ego have anything to do with electric bikes and scooters? Sen. Ramos represents Queens, and a bit of a transit desert. Often, in Queens, you have to walk a mile or more for a train. Traveling just two miles by train can take an hour, if moving between Queens and Brooklyn, thanks to this poor setup. As a result, the region relies heavily on bikes, scooters, and other forms of transportation. That’s why she sponsored a bill to legalize electric bikes and scooters in the state.

See where this is going?

Cuomo, who previously spoke in favor of legalizing electric bikes and scooters, suddenly stood against the bill. The bill has been waiting since June for his signature, and how he refuses to sign it, seemingly, over a personal spat between him and the sponsor of the bill. It’s the same reason Cuomo continues to withhold necessary money for improvements to the MTA, a spat with NYC’s mayor, Bill de Blasio.

Though speaking of Bill de Blasio, this is one area he and Cuomo may agree. Despite being far less dangerous than the cars on our roads, causing only 0.05% of traffic-related injuries in 2018, de Blasio has asked the NYPD to target these bike riders specifically. Mayor de Blasio is in favor of pedal assist only bikes though, not the throttle-based variety used by delivery riders. Many of these delivery riders are immigrants, leading to targeting of first generation immigrant workers and poorer residents over the cause of most traffic incidents: more wealthy residents in cars. It’s not difficult to see the racial targeting here, either. All over a relatively simple and surprisingly ancient piece of consumer tech: electric bikes.

Pedaling Forward

State senators can pass a bill covering Cuomo’s criticisms, requiring helmets for use of scooters and bikes. However, there’s no guarantee this will be enough to get Cuomo on board. This bill was passed months ago, and waited nearly half a year for a response from Cuomo. Clearly, he’s holding the bill up for political reasons. Meanwhile, his constituents suffer.

America has finally begun to embrace alternative forms of transportation. We’re looking to greener ways of getting around that take up less space than cars, are safer for pedestrians, and are even faster in cities. We love new tech, believe the environment needs a helping hand, and we’re applying those passions to our transportation. It seems our leaders haven’t been as enthusiastic. Here’s hoping 2020 brings many changes. Maybe we’ll finally see a nation-wide push for more electric vehicles on the road. We just need to get our politicians out of the way of progress.

Sources:

• Vincent Barone, AM New York
• Bernadette Hogan, Nolan Hicks, and David Meyer, New York Post
• Bernadette Hogan, David Meyer, and Aaron Feis, New York Post
• Gersh Kuntzman, StreetsBlog NYC
• NY DMV
• Sean O’Kane, The Verge
• Georgina Torbet, Engadget
• Vivian Wang, New York Times