The biggest, quickest e-bikes could quickly require a license and registration, in response to a proposal made by Gov. Hochul in her annual State of the State plan Tuesday.
Hochul’s proposal would make the heaviest of the so-called “Class 3” e-bikes — which have handlebar throttles along with pedals and might journey at speeds of 25 mph or extra — mopeds within the eyes of the regulation.
Any Class 3 bike weighing greater than 100 kilos could be reclassified, requiring a driver’s license and registration — full with license plates — in response to the plan. Mopeds are additionally banned from operation within the metropolis’s bike lanes.
Below metropolis regulation, Class 3 bikes are restricted to 25 mph, and riders are required to put on helmets. Apart from that, although, the quick bikes are at the moment handled the identical as slower Class 1 or Class 2 e-bikes — or conventional pedal-powered cycles — and are allowed in bike lanes.
Hochul’s proposal would additionally give metropolis authorities the power to decrease the pace restrict inside bike lanes.
The proposed regulation change wouldn’t apply to any Class 3 bikes weighing lower than 100 kilos, which might nonetheless be allowed in bike lanes and wouldn’t require a license or registration.
Twenty-four folks have been killed using bikes in New York Metropolis final yr, 17 of them on e-bikes.
That’s down from 2023, when 23 folks died whereas using e-bikes, greater than 3 times the seven individuals who died that yr on conventional, pedal-powered bicycles — a bleak statistic that sparked an NYC Division of Transportation public schooling marketing campaign concerning the powered two-wheelers.
Hochul’s proposal comes amid efforts by some New York Metropolis Council members to require registration and licensing for all e-bikes no matter weight or high pace.
Initially Revealed: January 14, 2025 at 6:30 PM EST
