E-bike registration, license plates to be discussed at City Council meeting
E-bikes, e-scooters could be required to be registered, have visible license plates.
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Electric bikes and scooters could be required to register with the Department of Transportation and display visible identification numbers on their vehicles.
The legislation, Intro 606, also known as Priscilla's Law, is set to be discussed before the Committee on Infrastructure and Transportation on Wednesday.
The law is named after Priscilla Loke, a 69-year-old, who was killed in Chinatown after she was hit by a bike in 2023. The rider left the scene of the accident.
"When e-bikes hit someone and flee, there is a better chance of finding the person and holding them accountable because at the end of the day, only accountability will change behavior, it's not going to be asking nicely, please get off the sidewalk, please don't hit me, this is a quality of life issue for all New Yorkers," said Janet Schroeder, director of NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance.
Pamela Manasse is a survivor of an electric bike collision.
"I was crossing in front of Lincoln Center, out of nowhere this e-vehicle came off a sidewalk, as I was told later, and hit me head-on," said Manasse.
Manasse was left partially paralyzed. She suffered a traumatic brain injury after she was hit in 2022.
"The biggest thing is I lost my career as a cellist, it's devastating, I struggle every day," said Manasse.
It's why she supports the law. City data shows at least 12 people died from e-scooter and e-bike crashes last year.
"Priscilla Loke died from being hit, and I am severely injured, and disabled now for the rest of my life, can this happen, yes it can happen but we want to make it happen less," said Manasse.
Not everyone is on board with the proposal. Transportation Alternatives says the bill does not focus on improving the design safety of roadways.
"Seventeen more times e-bike riders have been killed this year than have killed anyone, yet we are doing so little at the city level to protect these people, we are forcing them to ride on all of these streets and intersections that are repeatedly dangerous times and time again, and doing so little to support them," said Alexa Sledge, with Transporation Alternatives.
Sledge says if passed, the city would have to create a city-level DMV that is entirely focused on bikes.
"It would be an unbelievable amount of bureaucracy for New York City to take on, there is no estimated cost for this bill because we don't even know how many millions and millions of dollars it would cost to create these brick-and-mortar DMV-like situations in every single borough and hire all these people to enforce this law," said Sledge.
The meeting is set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
