Council backs initial rules to require delivery companies provide certified ‘safe e-bikes’ for couriers

Council member Oswald Feliz presented Intro 30‑B on June 11, saying the bill would require delivery companies to ensure contracted couriers use powered bicycles that meet local safety standards and certification by accredited testing laboratories. Feliz described the measure as the “first in the country” to require companies to provide safe e-bikes for workers and framed the change as a response to a rising number of fires linked to defective devices.

Feliz said the city had recorded 116 fires tied to e-bikes so far in the calendar year and recounted a recent Bronx five-alarm fire that injured multiple people, including a firefighter. “We’re in a fire safety crisis,” Feliz said on the floor, and argued the delivery companies that profit from the market have a responsibility to provide safe equipment.

The bill was reported out of the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection as “amended and coupled on general orders.” Sponsors and supporters said the measure places safety responsibilities on delivery companies, with compliance obligations focused on devices used by contracted delivery workers.

Council members emphasized implementation details will be important, including the testing standard and the role of city inspection and enforcement offices. The committee report listed Intro 30‑B on the general-orders calendar; the clerk later included it among the adopted items on the general-orders calendar announced at the session’s close.