NYC’s E-Bike Program Seeks to Nix Unsafe Lithium Batteries; Offers New Bikes

By: Hellen Zaboulani

New York City has been battling to get rid of unsafe lithium batteries found in older e-bikes.

As reported by the NY Times, the city’s e-bike trade-in program  has been offering brand-new e-bikes certified to meet industry safety standards at discounted prices to delivery workers who trade in their old e-bikes.  The pilot program offers a new e-bike for just $1,900 after the trade in, discounted down from the retail price of $3,775.   The response, however, has been lackluster to say the least, with just three trade-ins made since July–two for e-bikes and one e-scooter.

The city already has a law in place requiring all e-bikes sold in NYC after September to be UL-2849 certified.  The problem is that many of the older e-bikes already owned will continue to be the root of the problem and still pose deadly risks of fire.  That’s why the city launched the trade in program, offering all delivery workers with over 6-months at the job, to trade in any e-bike, e-scooter, or e-moped and get discounted prices.  After the program’s slow start, it added two lower cost options — the cheapest being $700 for a Velotric Go1 ebike (retails for $2,300), or $928 for a Aventon Level.2 (retails for $2,526).

As per the NY Times, the city currently has 60,000-plus delivery workers, who make up the bulk of e-bikes in NYC.  The trade-in program is being funded with $460,000 from donors– including Uber and DoorDash.   The main problem in replacing the e-bike is the price. “Of course I’m worried about the fires, everybody is worried,” said Mohammad Rob, 48, who delivers Uber Eats orders up to six hours a day on his uncertified Arrow 10 e-bike. “But I don’t have enough money to change it.”

Another impediment to the program, however, is the challenge of reaching the delivery drivers.  Many of them are immigrants who don’t speak much English or who work illegally.  Some of them were suspicious of the program, wondering if it can be a scam or even a trap to discover their immigration status.   Since the two new cheaper e-bike models were introduced, eleven more trade-ins are scheduled for September.  Ten of those are for the two cheaper options.  There were over 200 applications in all for a trade-in by delivery workers.

Some, however, didn’t reply to the follow up, didn’t have the money for the trade in, or weren’t approved because they couldn’t verify that they did delivery work for at least six months.  “It’s getting people through the process that’s the challenge,” said Melinda Hanson, a co-founder of the Equitable Commute Project, a coalition of community, education and business groups, which is running the program.

The program has several trade-in events scheduled for September in different parts of the five boroughs.  The city is offering test drives and even low-interest loans to fuel interest in the program.   Applications will be responded to within five days, the city promises on the website www.equitablecommute.org/tradein .

In 2023, so far, lithium battery fires have killed 14 people and injured 96 others in New York City alone, per the Times.  The Fire Department has been working to step up inspections of bike shops.