New York State SmartTranscripts:

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: There it goes. Okay. We're on. Alrighty. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this public hearing on the use and impact of electric bicycles and electric scooters. I thank you all for being here. I am Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee. And I'm pleased to be joined this morning by my colleagues of the ranker on the committee, Mr. Miller, also Assembly Member Shimsky, Assembly Member Bendett, and Assembly Member Eckis. Thank you all for coming. I appreciate that. New York state enacted a law in 2020 legalizing the operation of electric bicycles and electric scooters on public roadways. Various sources, including the US Department of Energy as well as a study submitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have indicated there has been a continuous increase in the use of micro mobility devices such as these over the past few years. There have also been reports pointing out issues regarding the impact of these devices on public and traffic safety, as well as raising other various concerns. We are here today seeking testimony to examine the effects that e bikes and e scooters have had on public safety, mobility, and traffic congestion. We also welcome information on other issues associated with e bike and e scooter safety, operation, and availability, such as factors related to cost storage and charging. Safety, mobility, and congestion are among the concerns prioritized by the Assembly Transportation Committee, And I'm looking forward to hearing from the witnesses scheduled to testify before us today. Additionally, any person is welcome to submit written hearing testimony to the committee. I would like to thank in advance all the witnesses for participating in today's hearing and to remind everyone to please limit their statements to five minutes. If your testimony is longer than that, please summarize it, because we'll have your complete written submission if you provide it to us. Before I call the first witness to present testimony, do any of my colleagues have any short opening remarks that they would like to make? And I would like to also introduce Assembly Member Giglio, who is also here today with us. Anyone have an opening statement? Go ahead. Miller.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for putting this hearing together. And I just want to thank all the witnesses before they give all their testimony. E bikes are something new to all of us. They've been here for a little while. They pose different obstacles across the state, not only in the rural areas, but in the urban areas, too. So I just want to thank the chairman for putting this together, and we're looking forward to hearing testimony.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Anyone else? Okay, I think we'll call our did you have anything? No. I'll call our first witness today, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, Patricia Burke.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Okay. Good morning, Chair Magnarelli and honorable members of the Assembly of Transportation Committee. My name is Patricia Burke, I'm the bike and pedestrian program representative for the New York Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, GTSC. And I'm representing DMV and GTSC here today. The New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee coordinates traffic safety activities in the state and shares useful timely information about traffic safety in the state's highway safety grant program. The committee is comprised of 13 agencies that have missions related to transportation and safety. GTSE is chaired by the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles and acts as the state's official liaison with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In this role, GTSE has seen electric bicycles, e bikes, and electric scooters, e scooters, quickly emerge as a mode of transportation with many benefits for recreational riders, commuters, and workers. Street legal e bikes and e scooters enable riders to cover longer distances, provide last mile connections in areas lacking transit options, and allow delivery workers to carry heavier cargo loads, all without increasing traffic congestion and carbon emissions. There's often confusion about what an e bike or an e scooter is, so I'll start with the operational basics. Where you're allowed to ride and how you ride depends on the type of transportation device you have. I'd like to describe what differentiates an e scooter from different classes of e bikes. An electric scooter has handlebars, a floorboard or a seat that can be stood or sat upon by the operator, and an electric motor powered by electric motor and or human power. While their max speed is no more than 20 miles per hour, they're illegal to operate at more than 15 miles per hour. A bicycle with an electric assist commonly refers to multiple classes of e bikes with an electric motor and operable pedals that is no more than 36 inches wide and has an electric motor of less than 750 watts. Equipped with operable pedals, meeting the equipment and manufacturing requirements for bicycles adopted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under 16 CFR part fifteen twelve point one and meeting the requirements of one in the following three classes. Class one bicycle with electric assist has an electric motor that provides assistance only when pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when reaching 20 miles per hour. Class two bicycle with electric assist has an electric motor that may be used exclusively to propel such bicycle and it's not capable of providing assistance when reaching 20 miles an hour. Class three bike with electric assist has an electric motor that may be used exclusively to propel such bike and is not capable of providing assistance when reaching 25 miles per hour for use solely within a city having a population of 1,000,000 or more. It's also important to note who can and cannot ride an e bike. E bike and e scooter operators must be at least 16 years old. Finally, it's essential that I take a moment to provide a brief education on where and how these devices can be used. Statewide e bikes and e scooters are not allowed on sidewalks except as authorized by local law or ordinance. But they may be operated on some streets and highways with a posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less. Municipalities can further regulate the time, place, and manner operation of these devices. For example, New York City set their maximum speed limit for e bikes and e scooters at 15 miles per hour. Suffolk and Nassau Counties have a 20 mile per hour max speed. We at DMV and GTSC believe a fundamental component of the safe operation of any bike or scooter, including those with electric assist, is the use of helmets at all times. Currently, helmets are recommended for all e bike and e scooter operators but are required for those age 16 and 17. However, some municipalities have strengthened those requirements, like in Nassau and Suffolk Counties where all operators must wear a helmet regardless of age. And in New York City, helmets are required for all operators of class three e bikes. We at DMV and GTSC would support a more robust statewide helmet requirement. It's also important to talk about the type of helmets riders should use. While there's no specific US federal standard exclusively for e bike helmets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission mandates that all bicycle helmets sold in The US meet their safety standards. Those certified helmets are primarily tested for impacts at speeds up to 14 miles per hour, which may not offer adequate protection for crashes involving e bikes, especially those that can and do travel at speeds higher than 25 miles per hour. The Dutch standard known as the NTA 8,776 is widely considered the gold standard for e bike helmets, specifically designed for higher speeds up to 28 miles per hour and offering extended head coverage. While a CPSC certified helmet is the legal minimum, riders of e bikes and e scooters should consider helmets that meet the NTA 8,776 standard for enhanced protection. An e bike that does not fall within the three class system is illegal in New York and should not be on our roadways. Consumers may be ignorant of or even misled when it comes to purchasing and riding illegal devices. And while they may be cheaper while they may be a cheaper alternative, illegal e bikes and e scooters often don't meet minimum consumer safety standards, lack UL certification, and may be more likely to exceed safe speed limits and to cause fires. All of

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: these issues are why GTSE takes our role supporting and promoting street safety measures very seriously. Over the last two years, we've provided over $7,000,000 to 101 state, local, and not for profit agencies for bicycle and pedestrian programs and projects to improve safety and reduce deaths and serious injuries due to crashes. In conclusion, DMV, GTSC, and our partner agencies are focused on activities to keep New Yorkers safe while on the roads, whatever mode they choose to get around. And we hope to continue these joint efforts. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. And I'm happy to answer any questions. J. Okay. Thank you very much. It went a little bit over.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: J. I'm sorry.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I had a

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: lot to say.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I want to tell everybody else. It's an agency of the state, so I kind of a little leeway there. Okay. I also would like to announce that two more members have joined us, Member Cunningham and Member Williams on the table here. I have a few questions, and I'm sure that my colleagues will have questions as well. First of all, let me just see. Does the DMV have any position on licensing e bikes?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: ALISON you so much for the question, chair. And just to quickly introduce myself, my name is Allison Bradley. I'm an associate commissioner at DMV, here to help represent the agency alongside my colleague Patricia. Chair, as we've discussed a few times and happy to continue to discuss, we don't have a position. But our position is we will do whatever is best for the health and safety of the public. We are here in order to be good stewards of street safety and to be able to do what we can in order to ensure the safety of the public.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Appreciate your answer, Okay. But when there are bills that the committee has put forth to the DMV dealing with e bikes, what I am getting as responses is basically that there are some technical difficulties with the DMV taking over that aspect of what I just questioned you on. In other words, how do you license a vehicle that doesn't have a VIN number, that has no number that can be tracked? How do we do that? My question to you is, how do we do that? What is it that we should be doing? What do you need? Okay? Because I think we're going down a road where something of that nature is going to have to be done. So saying you have no position is not exactly correct. You have positions based on what you can and can't do. Those I need to know, and they need to be public. Okay? Does the DMV have any data on crashes involving e bikes and scooters with cars and or pedestrians? Do you have any data on this?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: That's a phenomenal question, actually. We are working to improve today. You are on it. We are we are working with our law enforcement partners to improve our crash data, especially over the last year. I know that it was and I would defer most of the answer to this question to law enforcement who is on the ground dealing with crashes. But I know that we've been working more closely with them to improve how and what they collect when it comes to crashes so that we can use that data to then assist in creating better policies around crashes and respond to them.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. That's exactly what I'm trying to get to, Okay? The anecdotal information that we're getting is horrendous of people either on e bikes or scooters being hit, Okay, and sustaining injuries, and or e bikes or scooters hitting pedestrians or other people and hurting them and then driving off with no way of catching them, and finding out they just go off into the multitude of e bikes that are out there. So we do need that data. And so I'm going to be pushing the department to do that. So what role do you play right now in regulating e bikes or scooters, just for the record?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: We have a fairly limited role in regulating e bikes Okay. And

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: So it's mostly the municipalities or us coming up with a law? J.

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: Yeah, there's very few of similarly situated devices like mopeds that are registered and regulated. A lot of it is up to local municipalities. And Patricia, who works with the municipalities, may want to tack on to what I'm saying as the local expert on this. But there's a lot on the local municipalities.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Yep. The locals can regulate time, manner, and place when these e devices are used. But another one of our roles is safety education. So we have some traffic safety partners like New York Bicycling Coalition. And they've developed law enforcement training for micro mobility, which is helpful to law enforcement to recognize the different types of devices that may be legal or not legal. They also provide education to the public. And I'm happy to provide those resources to you. We also have other partners statewide that provide micro mobility training and basic bicycle education.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I have only one question. By the way, thank you very much for your testimony. And I love this all being written out because I get confused all

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: the time.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Now I can look at something. One more question for you, though. Can you describe the e bikes that are not classified in what you just talked to us about that are being sold on the streets?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Can I? Yes, please. Hoverboards, electric unicycles, segues, anything that's not able to be registered for New York State is not considered an illegal e mobility device.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Okay.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Questions? Thank you. Questions? Mr. Bendett, then Mr. Cunningham.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Mr. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. I live in Rensselaer County, just over the river, and a lot of people bike over there. Our default speed limits tend to be approximately 45 miles per hour on a lot of our roads. And in your testimony, you said that it was legal for e bikes to ride on roads that were posted 30 miles per hour or less. If you're riding an e bike out in Rensselaer County on a road that's 45 miles per hour, is that legal or illegal?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: It would not be legal for someone to ride an e bike in excess of what is allowed unless there is a local option for them to be on an otherwise designated roadway. So I would say it's not permissible for someone to be on a 45 mile per hour road going any speed on an e

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: bike. J.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Thank you very much. That's my only question.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Okay. Mr. Eckes. J.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Thank you. Sorry, Brian. I have two questions. I want to first clarify something that the chair said. As you are well aware, there's a difference between registering and licensing. And of course, when we're talking about registering, we're talking about registering the vehicle. And you just stated that certain things segues, hoverboards, something like that cannot be registered because they don't have VIN numbers. And I believe that's what the chairman brought up also in the beginning, that a lot of these bikes don't have VIN numbers. But that's not really what I'm getting to. I mean, that tends to be a problem. I'm not looking to register bikes. What I'm looking instead is doing something like, I'm sure you heard, New Jersey just did. They are licensing e bike riders and scooters at 15 and 16 years old. What are your thoughts about licensing these folks to ride these vehicles?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: J. Our opinion, sir, is if if you pass legislation and it is signed by the governor and that is what the legislature is directing, we will operationalize.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: That's great. And of course, I'm well aware of that. But you don't have an opinion on whether this is going to aid or assist in some way with the difficulties we're having with these vehicles at all?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: I think having an opinion on that, I would leave to our traffic safety experts, which I think are following right behind us.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Okay. Okay. Then I won't put it on you. The second question I have is that you talked about illegal e bikes and e scooters. And one of the things you said is that they lack UL certification.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: MALEC. Sorry? MALEC.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: MALAC. Okay. MALAC, u l certification. I'm glad you bring that up because a lot of people don't know what the underwriters' laboratories exactly are. But I believe some of the bikes that you do allow on the roads now currently lack UL certification also. Their batteries are not UL certified. So are you looking to set that as a I would like to as a requirement for any legal e bike or e scooter that they be UL certified?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: J. I think and I may have to follow-up on this, but I believe the legislature took some pretty strong steps forward in trying to get the illegal or non registered, non UL batteries off the roads recently. So pardon me. My watch is making noise at me. So sorry, assembly member. I believe that the legislature took some steps forward in order to get those off the road. I believe they worked also with the governor to have a task force on those illegal batteries in order to because I know in some of your districts, there were some horrendous fires in the not so distant past that these actions were working towards mitigating. So we won't be supportive in any additional efforts that the legislature wants to go after.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. I'm going to finish with a final statement that a lot of assembly members say. I have a bill. Thank you.

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: We're happy to look at any bill. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I have a Thank you very much. I want to apologize. You were supposed to be next.

[Assemblymember Brian Cunningham]: It's Okay.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Think But I'm it's Brian Cunningham.

[Assemblymember Brian Cunningham]: I think I left my binder book at the Transportation Committee hearing yesterday because a lot of the members have reacted to the questions. I do have some additional questions, though. And I think one of it has to do with education. And what are the current standards in education in educating e cyclists, e scooter riders how to actually perform and use those vehicles?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: I am going to defer because we have a plethora of informational materials that we can provide to your office and that are widely available. And I'll let Tricia go through those.

[Assemblymember Brian Cunningham]: Is there currently a site where people can find that information now? And if so, we are.

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: We are happy to share that with you. There's a number of I'm sorry. I keep stepping on the professional air.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: That's Okay. Our website, trafficsafety.gov, has all of the links and resources to bicycle and pedestrian campaign resources, PSAs, downloadable publications, also links to our partner traffic safety organizations. There's no reason somebody shouldn't have the education out there because it is available. It's free. It's available in many languages, excuse me. Did that answer your question?

[Assemblymember Brian Cunningham]: Yeah. And the following question I have is, do we have a sense of how many e bikes and e scooters exist on our roads and across the state?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: It's hard to get that count with the information that we have.

[Assemblymember Brian Cunningham]: And in terms of the accidents that we referred to earlier happening across the state, is there a particular information we have about how those accidents occur? What's causing those accidents? Is it speed? Is it what's the reason for some of those many accidents?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: I'm going to slightly, if you'll allow me to, correct your language a little bit. We prefer to use the word crash rather than accident because we find that it's more it symbolizes more of the actions that take place. So with crashes, we do have some data, but we don't have as much data. And as I was telling the committee earlier, we are trying to improve the data that we do get on crashes. We're working with law enforcement to collect more information specifically about how those crashes occur with different mobility devices.

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Williams, please.

[Assemblymember Jaime R. Williams]: J. Thank you very much. A lot of the questions were asked here. I was happy that you answered with the language. That's really important, especially in today's society where that mode of transportation is used in the restaurant business for food delivery and so forth. But my question is, with the new increased point system where drivers are concerned, we have increased accidents with these type of scooters and so forth. And if we're increasing points on one who is operating a vehicle and these other individuals with these scooters are causing accidents and they're just getting let out scotch free, I mean, that's really, I mean, counteractive. I think it really needs to be oversight and regulation because once you're operating, whether it's a vehicle or an e scooter on the city Street, there needs to be more regulation. You can have increased points for some and then this other person who is breaking all the laws and causing some of these accidents and there is no repercussion there for that individual. I've seen firsthand on the Bell Parkway in South Brooklyn that I represent these e scooters on the parkway. So this is really a public safety issue. And as we move ahead and again, everyone who have a driver's license is very well much taken back with this new point system. I think if we have rules and regulations for those who are operating a scooter going x amount of miles, we need to have enforcement there as well. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Can I just interrupt here for a second before we go to the next member? I want to be clear. There's no registration of these things, e bikes or e scooters. There's no licensing of them. They're not vehicles. So there are no points. Correct. I mean, if they're pulled over, they get some kind of a ticket that goes to an e bike or an e scooter. You weren't driving in the right place. You were going over the mileage or something. I don't even know how that works, to be very honest with you. This is something that is very concerning, at least to me, and I'm sure it is to the other members along here. In other words, these people can you know, and some of these bikes, by the way, that I've seen in Syracuse, they go faster than what you're talking about. And they drive anywhere. And when I say anywhere, it's the sidewalk, the streets, the parks, the cemeteries, anywhere, okay? So this is becoming a real problem and a neighborhood problem. The noise, etcetera, in the middle of the night of these things happening. Now I'm going off. I apologize. My colleague and member, Giglio, has a few questions.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Good morning, and thank you both for being here today. It's really important that we have representation from the DMV. So I'm trying to understand what law enforcement agencies you're talking to because on the East End Long Island, we have several villages. We have the east end supervisors and mayors association that meet monthly. And this seems to be the biggest topic that's coming up. And Suffolk County is creating its own laws to try and rein it in and get people to be more courteous on the e bikes, I should say. So some of the issues that are brought up by the chiefs of the villages and of the police departments are that riders are frequently ignoring traffic control devices, stop signs and traffic signals. They're using sidewalks and pedestrian walkways, creating safety hazards. Lack of helmet use, particularly among young riders. Riders are unaware of or disregarding New York State vehicle and traffic law. There are increased complaints from residents and visitors regarding unsafe riding behavior. Juveniles are operating high powered e bikes under 16 years of age and electric dirt bikes. The all electric dirt bikes are capable of speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour. Juveniles riding two or more on a single e bike. Reckless behavior, including weaving through traffic, performing stunts or wheelies in roadways, riding in large groups that block traffic, riding against traffic. They disregard for pedestrian safety in high foot traffic areas in all of our villages on the East End. Limited enforcement options when juveniles are involved. Difficulty identifying operators after violations due to no license plates or identifiers repeated violations by the same juveniles confusion among parents and juveniles regarding what is legal versus illegal inconsistent understanding of e bike classifications and age restrictions by parents and juveniles many riders don't know where they're legally allowed to ride cars, pedestrians and cyclists may not expect a bike to move so fast And I'm just curious, if we can register golf carts on roads with limited mileage, such as 25 miles per hour, why can't we register e bikes? And, you know, it's really getting more and more difficult for law enforcement because when a minor is acting recklessly on an e bike and they stop that e bike, law enforcement has to sit with that minor and who has no ID, has to sit with that minor for hours waiting for the parents to come and pick that child up, which is really creating a problem in our smaller villages because the law enforcement that we have on duty at those particular times is limited. So it's really like I said, if we can register and license golf cart usage on roads with minimum speed limits, why can't we register and license e bikes? That's my first question. And then, do you think, as we have with boater safety classes for minors and for people that are using watercraft, that we should have those same classes and requirements of a license or a completed course for both the parents of a minor and a minor before an e bike can be purchased?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: There was a lot to both of those questions. I think we're going to have to do some follow-up with you, assembly member, and we would love to do that. We'd also like to make connections, if they aren't already made, between GTSC and the education that we do there and the law enforcement that you are discussing on Long Island. It could be that we've got a great opportunity to open some dialogue and assist where we can. As for everything else, I wrote down a lot of notes. And I appreciate the opportunity to be able to follow-up with you afterwards to see what we can do within the bounds that we can currently do them and then what else we can do going forward. I know the point of the hearing, as the chair set out, is to see what our next steps are. And we're open to working with everyone here to figure those out.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: So we are licensing and registering golf carts, correct?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: It's not a typical golf cart. It's a limited use vehicle.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Okay.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: There's something in the definition that's a little different. It's not your generic golf cart that you would

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: So there could be something limited as far as that is concerned with e bikes, correct?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Yeah. You can't register or operate minibike, an off road motorcycle, go kart, golf cart, a KEI class vehicle, and a lawn mower on any street, highway, parking lot, sidewalk, or another area in New York state that allows public motor vehicle traffic. You may be arrested if

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: you J.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: But it is hard to enforce from law enforcement. So I look forward to future discussions. Thank you.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: J. Absolutely.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you. I just want to welcome members. Montanias and Romero have joined us as well. Okay, Mr. Miller. MILLER:

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Okay, we have an industry out here that's being developed, not only here in New York State, but across the country. I know there's some e bike manufacturers looking to possibly manufacture in Utica, New York. So you're talking about traffic safety data. When do you feel that you will have this data collected instead of we're just going to do it and maybe we'll have it in a few years? This is very, very important to all of our conversation right here.

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: No, agreed. And it's improving as time goes on. I think the increased ability of law enforcement to collect this data, it is evolving. And let's just say there'll be a lot of follow-up conversations on the data as the collection improves and as our overall amount of data J.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Okay. So being up here in Upstate New York, in New York, and we're going to see some nasty weather come through, New York's probably behind the e bike revolution, correct? So that data may be available to us from Texas, California, whatever. So we're going to be looking at obtaining it not only from our emergency services people, but we're going to look across the country.

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: Yeah, and we have opportunities to partner through NHTSA. And I'll let

[Melinda Hansen (Senior Advisor, Upway)]: you speak to that because

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: I think you may know more about that.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Can I mention the MV 104? Please. The MV 104 was just the motor vehicle crash reporting form that law enforcement uses. One of the gaps in collecting the data was that it didn't exist. There was no spot for micro mobility on the form. So maybe law enforcement would come upon a crash and not know, how do I report this? As a motorcycle or as a bicycle? So as a result, some of that data just kind of fell through the cracks. But that form's been updated. So we don't have enough information yet because it's relatively new. But we're hoping that that will be a big benefit statewide. And also New York City collects some of their own micromobility data separately.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: J.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Okay. So we have a lot of bike friendly road design here in New York State. It's happening all over the place, correct? And I think this data, for us to obtain it sooner than later, would help out with road projects and what have you. But like I say, we have an industry here that's moving forward, and we just want to catch up. So I'd like to just give you a little push on that data. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: G. Well, thank you. Are there any other questions? Member Montellis.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: Good morning, Commissioner, and thank you for being here. And please excuse my ignorance as it seems like it's still not clear to me what the difference is between e bikes and motorcycles, or what are the differences?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: So Trisha can walk through a little bit, but we also have additional materials that we can follow-up with you that might make some of those distinctions a little bit clearer. But to be fair, isn't you can't always tell just by looking at a device what it is. So we'll provide you with additional information afterwards. But I'll let Tricia sort of briefly describe what it looks like. And we also, within our written testimony, have a description so that you can use that later, too.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Yeah. And I think what's most effective is this handy chart that I got from New York City that describes the breakdown between the e bike classifications and mopeds and e scooters. But a limited use motorcycle is a moped, a class A moped. And they can go 40 miles per hour. A class B moped can go 30 miles per hour. And a class C moped goes 20 miles per hour. But on the surface, they can be really hard to differentiate to the untrained eye because some of them do look like motorcycles or mini bikes, if you will. Yes. But they have different equipment. They have different equipment and different safety standards than motorcycles.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: I no, I understand. And like I said, I'm having difficulty trying to understand that. And so it just becomes even more difficult trying to explain it to folks. And I feel like that's part of the issue. Can you tell me which one requires a DMV registration? And then also the data collected about accidents, is it related to motorcycles or e bikes?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: We like to call them crashes because they're preventable. We don't like to call them accidents. We like to make sure everybody knows anything like that is a preventable situation. What was the other I forgot the first question.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: The data collecting, Is it related to motorcycles or e bikes?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: We have data on motorcycle crashes currently. We don't have enough data on micro mobility crashes because, one reason, the form was recently updated. So we're currently taking in information. There's not enough to report out on. New York City does have different information if you wanted to check on their crash statistics for micro mobility.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: And which one would require a DMV registration?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: A motorcycle.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: Okay. And do motorcycles require a license?

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Yes.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I'd like to welcome Member Hooks to the committee hearing as well, member. Are there any further questions of these people? Well, I want to thank you for being here. And we are going to be in touch on this one. And I'm looking forward to hearing everybody else. Thank you very much for your testimony, and say hello to the commissioner for me, would you please?

[Allison Bradley (Associate Commissioner, NYS DMV)]: We will. Thank you so much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank Thank you. Oops. Now we have David Regina, Deputy Chief, Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Association of Chiefs of Police. Good morning, sir. Go right ahead.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: We're all set, sir.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: We're all set. Go right ahead.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: Good morning, Chairman Magnarelli, honorable members of the committee, and distinguished guests. My name is David G. G. I'm the deputy chief of patrol for the Suffolk County Police Department. I'm here today representing my agency and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police. I appreciate the opportunity to share my perspectives on the impacts of electric bicycles, commonly referred to as e bikes, and electric scooters, commonly referred to as e scooters, on mobility and public safety in our communities. E bikes have emerged as a popular mode of transportation across New York State. While offering some benefits, such as reduced traffic congestion and lower carbon emissions, as their popularity grows, so are concerns about their impact on public safety. We have seen in law enforcement increased safety concerns, increased concerns regarding the speed of these devices, and increases in serious physical injury and fatal crashes. Many of these e bikes and e scooters far exceed the legal speed requirements, are often being operated on roadways where they are not permitted, and are often being modified to overcome the manufacturer's specifications and speed requirements. In 2025, in the Suffolk County Police District, there were 16 serious physical injury crashes and two fatalities involving an e bike or an e scooter. Three of those operators in these crashes were under 16 years of old and at least five were not wearing a safety helmet. We also see potential conflicts between pedestrians and traditional cyclists. E bikes and e scooters are often operated in areas where they are not permitted or not expected to be, such as sidewalks, parks, and pass systems. This creates a potential conflict with pedestrians, traditional cyclists, families, and children. Families, children, and other cyclists, pedestrians often don't expect to see these devices being operated in these spaces. We've also seen an increase in the amount and significance of related injuries. Stony Brook University Hospital is the largest level one trauma center in Suffolk County. According to Stony Brook Pediatric Trauma Center, micro mobility incidents, which include e bikes and e scooters, accounted for thirty percent of all pediatric trauma activations in 2025. Related admissions rose by more than two thousand two hundred percent from 2023 to 2025. And these devices are also highly associated with increased injury severity, which includes traumatic brain injuries. We've also seen limited education on these devices, the proper operation of these devices, and age related concerns. Technology in e bikes and e scooters have often outpaced education and in many times the law. There is widespread confusion, especially among families regarding classifications, speed restrictions, where these devices may be operated, age requirements, and proper equipment, including helmets. Law enforcement regularly encounters underage riders. These riders are often unsupervised and they often lack the experience and the training and they also lack the judgment and the awareness to safely operate these devices. We have also seen from a law enforcement perspective some difficulties in enforcement. While New York State has enacted laws regulating e bikes and e scooters, enforcement remains a challenge and at times has the potential to negatively impact enforcement efforts. Classifications, speed limits, where these devices can be legally operated, age requirements, helmet requirements, and who is held accountable for these violations oftentimes remains unclear. They are often confused and crossed over with electric motorcycles and electric limited use motorcycles. Law enforcement routinely struggles to determine, are these devices required to be registered? Are they required to be insured? And do we have licensing requirements? Some suggested improvements. Education must be a central component to any strategy. Riders and parents need clear, accessible information regarding lawful operation, age requirements, helmet use, and safe practices. From a law enforcement perspective, enforcement, enhanced safety equipment requirements, improved data collection on crashes and injuries, and targeted education campaigns developed in partnership with law enforcement, schools, municipalities, community organizations, and transportation agencies would be greatly beneficial. E bikes and e scooters present new challenges to public safety. It is crucial that we strike a balance between e microability and ensuring the safety of all members of our community. I urge members of the committee to work collaboratively with law enforcement, planners, municipal leaders, community organizations and transportation authorities to create safer infrastructure, implement and enforce clear regulations, and develop and promote education campaigns that will help minimize the risk associated with e bikes and scooters. Thank you for your time and consideration. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you very much, sir. I just have one very general question,

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay?

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: It comes up not taking a shot at law enforcement here at all, Okay? I know you have a tough job. But there are things on the books. And sometimes the public is watching this happen right in front of them. And it seems from your testimony that not only is the public not educated, but maybe law enforcement is not educated as well. Seems clear from the testimony that we had a little bit earlier what the classifications of the e bikes and e scooters are. Why is it that law enforcement doesn't understand it?

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: J. Chairman Magnarelli, I would have to say I would agree with you. We are definitely behind the curve. I see this in many of our officers. I've put together a PowerPoint, which I've spread to my department, which I said, hey, let's concentrate on the four or five things that really patrol officers should know. I think it's gaining some traction. I think we're getting better. I do agree with you. We and the public are definitely behind the curve. The exact answers to that, I'm not sure. Microavility, you're right, is only about five years old. But it's something that we definitely have to improve on.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Well, I appreciate your candor and look forward to working with you on these things. We will be in touch. I'd love to have any suggestions you have on how we make things a little bit safer on the streets. So we'll work together. Do we have any other questions? Mr. Reikus?

[Ligia Guallpa (Executive Director, Workers Justice Project)]: I do.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. D. R. You. Thank you, chief, for

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: being here. I really do appreciate it. J. You're welcome, sir. D. Try to give you actual physical, let's say, educational components that might be used, what is your thoughts if we write a bill that demands that every time a e bike or e scooter is purchased by a customer that it comes with the directions which you talk about, who can ride it, the need for helmets, what the requirements are as far as speed limits go, where it can be ridden, so on like that. Because the term education sometimes can be really tough, educating the general population. But maybe if we submit with every purchase these instructions, we could at least have those that are purchasing the bikes have that information in hand.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: J. I disagree with that. Anything that we can do to increase the education. Again, did, in accordance with Smithtown High School lease last week and I give really props to Stony Brook University Hospital we did a very good collaborative e bike presentation to the ninth grade and tenth grade classes. And it's really more clear that most of these kids do not know the laws. And unfortunately, I don't think their parents know the laws.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. And I also believe that when they purchase an e bike or an e scooter, that a helmet should come along with it, a certified helmet should come along with it. The final thing is what I want to talk that the chairman talked about, education for our law enforcement. I know that I have a bill that is for firefighters and the like, emergency personnel when they are responding to an accident with lithium ion batteries and the like and so on like that. Could we perhaps create a video? Could the Chiefs create a video that could be distributed statewide, giving the basics on the things that you talked about, how to classify these things and so on like that. Is that a possibility? Because you had mentioned that you put something together I'm not quite sure what it is but you put something together for your fellow officers and so on like that.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: G. I saw the need for this. And several of the officers in our highway patrol section saw the need for this. So I'm working with several of them. We're also working with some other officers. We are now actually bringing a class to our recruits. So actually, our new recruits will get some educational background. But there was definitely a void. I would say that that's a great idea. The problem I do see is that there are, I believe, over five thirty five separate municipal police departments in the state. So that's the challenge that we face because we're all so spread out.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. Yeah. No, I totally agree with you. And I'm going to finish up with that's exactly why I say produce a video so that that would be available to the 500 plus municipal law enforcement and so on like that at all times. So if you get somebody new tomorrow, they sit down and they watch that video and so on like that because they missed the training as a group before and all. So it's something that I'm considering. As I say, I did it for accidents with lithium ion batteries, mostly for firemen and so on like that and ambulance. But I hadn't thought about the actual requirements of knowing this stuff and all. So I thank you very much for your testimony. J.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Based on local conditions? And does current state law adequately respect home rule?

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: I heard your statements earlier with the last presenters. And I agree with a lot of what you said. And as you said, our Suffolk County local law is going to be coming out. I have that draft in my folder here. It's something I think is going to give us a lot of the needed tools that would, in my opinion, fill in some of the gaps that state law currently sees. I don't want to blame the state because when these laws were enacted, we might not have been seeing all the problems that we're seeing. But really, the current state vehicle and traffic laws do have these shortfalls, which exactly causes some of the frustration between law enforcement and the local level. And I'm glad that we are addressing that in Suffolk County.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Mr. Miller.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Okay, one quick one. Do you have the what would be the cost for the five thirty five police agencies across the state to implement any kind of enforcement on e bike traffic enforcement. You know, this is a whole different thing. Know, we got seniors on walkways. We got all kinds of different stuff going on here. And just listen to what you're saying. You guys are probably doing a good job with enforcing any situations you have where you are, but this is gonna be a a huge education for law enforcement across the state. And it may need other forms of equipment that agencies couldn't even afford.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: G. That very well could be possible, Mr. Miller. Under the existing laws, the main violations we see, those are really going to be based on a police officer's observations. So we have the opportunity to do that. It's just really bringing law enforcement up to speed. And I'm not only saying my agency. I think many of these agencies are in the same boat that we are.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: J. Okay. Thank you.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Is that it?

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Montez. MUNTAZ:

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: Thank you. Thank you, Deputy Chief Regina, for sharing the data on e bikes and crashes and injuries. I'm wondering if you can provide comparable figures for cars and trucks during the same time period. While the injury is serious, e bike incidents represent a much smaller share of total, sheet fatalities, injuries, and motor vehicle responsible for vast majority. Seeing the data side by side would be helpful for context. Is that something that your association can help push or implement this year? And if not, what are the current challenges?

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: I would answer that and go back to the previous speakers. What Patricia said is the key to this, in my opinion, is the new MV104A in getting that data and getting that boxes so these micromobility devices can be logged in when a patrol officer handles a crash. This way, the state will have the repository, and now the individual municipalities will also have that. The data that I provided on our serious physical injury and fatal crashes, which just concerns the Suffolk County Police District, the area that we have jurisdiction over, I compiled that data by myself just by going over detective investigative reports and working with our research and development section. So I did that by hand. Now granted, it was only '19, so it wasn't that hard of a task. But if you're doing it statewide, until we have a statewide form, I think that's going to be very challenging.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: Thank you. Can you tell the difference between an e bike moped and determine which requires registration just by looking at it?

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: I can. Many officers cannot. And this is one of the difficulties. And the last speakers did speak about that. I would say the easiest way is an e bike is a defined term within the vehicle and traffic law, and it must have operable pedals. One of the biggest problems I see in Suffolk County is what we see as they're really e motorcycles. Prior to my current position, I was the commanding officer of our third precinct. And our officer had confiscated an e motorcycle in accordance with Suffolk County local law. And the mom had contacted the precinct. And she was upset. And she said, why did you take my son's e bike? He got it last week for his birthday. And I said, we need to call her back and tell her this is not an e bike. It doesn't have operable pedals. What her son is riding is an e motorcycle that was capable of doing between forty five and fifty miles an hour. And now that we are out of an e bike category, now we're into registration, insurance, and licensing, which that particular device was incapable of any of those three.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: I'm sorry. Can you tell me which type of motorcycle requires a registration and a license?

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: A motorcycle. There is limited use motorcycles, more commonly referred to as mopeds. There are three classes. Many of those require registration, insurance, and licensing. And all motorcycles require registration.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Hooks. And before Member Hooks asks her question, I wanted to welcome Member Simon to the committee hearing as well. Member Hooks.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: Hi. Hi, good morning.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: I just wanted to know if you could tell me, are officers allowed to more or less pursue? I know you're not allowed to pursue motorcycles because of the danger. What about the e bikes and e scooters?

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: J. In this instance, I can only comment on our department's policies and procedures. We have a very strict pursuit policy, and I'm going to paraphrase it for you. But our officers are only allowed to pursue for violent felonies that have just occurred or the immediate flight therefrom. And I'm paraphrasing that. So unless we had one of those situations, which I would find to be very rare, we would not be pursuing an e bike.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Okay. I asked that question, more or less because I'm trying to look at the enforcement of the e bikes. And from what I've seen in my community is that the officers are saying that they can't really go after or pursue motorbikes, motorcycles because of the it has a higher harm to individuals than a car does. So I don't know if there's a number or data as far as that, but I was just wondering if that is actually a case.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: We have again, as I spoke about, there's over five thirty police agencies. They all have their own separate policy regarding pursuits. I really only am familiar with my agency. But the answer, is we really do not encourage pursuing any of these e bikes or these e motorcycles. It creates an inherent risk for both the rider, the community, certainly the officer. J.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. I think that's it. I want to thank you for your testimony, your candor, and answering all our questions to the best of your ability, anyway. I appreciate it, and thank you for coming.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: J. Thank you very much, sir.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I'd like to call now Frank Anacaro, the CEO of Capital District Transportation Authority. Our buses, come on down. Go right ahead.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Thank you, and good morning, Mr. Chairman and Assembly members. I appreciate the opportunity to speak. I'm joined with Jonathan Scherzer from CDTA, who is one of our program managers here. I'm here to discuss the operation and effects of enhanced access to electrified mobility products in New York's Capital Region. CDTA launched CDPHP Cycle in 2017, our bike share program pilot, in partnership with the Capital Region Transportation Council to a resounding positive community response. The program's success mirrored the growing national movement towards multimodal transportation, which integrates biking, transit, shared mobility into complementary and connected networks. The program has become one of the most visible and impactful health focused mobility initiatives in the Capital Region. Cycle offers improved accessibility, connectivity, and has burned more 50,000,000 calories among our residents over the past decade. The program supports a cleaner environment as more than 700,000 pounds of carbon have been reduced from our atmosphere during the same period. We have grown the program's footprint through strategic municipal partnerships that have shaped the built environment in urban cores and suburban neighborhoods. This cooperative work has supported the inclusion of bike lanes, additional traffic demand management techniques, and piloting of the region's first e bike charging station in 2024. As ridership climbed year over year, we modernized the platform transitioning from plain pedal bikes to a fully upgraded system anchored by e bikes. This transformation has increased reliability, further improved accessibility, and allowed riders to travel farther, faster, and more comfortably across our six county area in region. This attention to detail culminated in a record breaking 2025 season as riders took more than 100,000 bike trips, covering over 155,000 miles, saving residents over an estimated $100,000 in vehicle ownership fees. CDTTA has always looked to be proactive, and we have developed cell block storage units to ensure safe housing and charging of our bike batteries for the past three season. Additionally, partnerships with the Albany Fire Department, training on proper storage and disposal of electric vehicles, batteries, and equipment. Thanks to our partnerships and diverse models, this program achieved a farebox recovery rate exceeding 92%. This number, very few transportation services in the nation reach in terms of financial performance. CDPHP cycle is not only popular, it's efficient, sustainable, and cost effective. Looking ahead, CDTA is working with NYSERDA to enhance our electric chart infrastructure across the region. We were recently awarded funding to expand cycle availability and grow charging options. These investments will enhance on street charging, connectivity, and system reliability, further solidifying the program as a state and national model for integrated electric mobility. CDTA's work goes beyond technology with equity serving as a core pillar of our mission. We created a partnership with the Albany Housing Authority to provide discounted access to for residents of public and subsidized housing, ensuring those who need low cost, reliable transit the most can use it for work, school, and essential services. Looking ahead, projections show continued ridership and growth, system expansion to more municipalities, and a fleet scaling towards 600 e bikes as we continue operating one of the most financially stable and sustainable micro mobility systems in the nation. The story here is clear. CDPHP cycle is performing at a level of a mature self sustaining transportation service. The addition of e bikes has increased mobility, improved public health, reduced emissions, and complements CDTA's broader transit network. It connects people to jobs, education, and opportunity while showcasing what is possible when a transit agency embraces innovative ways to move its residents. CDTA is proud to be one of the few transit authorities in The United States that directly operates a bike share system. We believe our municipal partner network gives a unique advantage. We understand our communities. We understand mobility. And we're committed to delivering safe, reliable, equitable transit across the capital region. Thank you for your time and your continued support. And I'll be happy to answer any questions you may

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: have. J. Yes.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Well, thank you very much for telling us what the authority is doing. I understand. But we're really getting to the problem of safety and safety on the roads. It seems that your system is designed to get better riders, I guess. I don't know. Have you heard anything about crashes involving your equipment? And do you have anything to share as far as that is concerned?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: I can tell you we just finished our ninth season. And I cannot count on one hand how many reported incidents we've had. Our program has been very safe. We've had, I think over the nine years, two reported J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: G. You do understand these crashes are happening. Maybe not with your but with others. Right.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Not with our program, but essentially.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Do you have any inkling on what we should do as far as, in general, how we handle e bikes and e scooters? Because it will affect you eventually.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Yes. I mean, in my personal opinion, I think more definition that we apply to the types of bicycles and e bikes, I think there may be some confusion on what designates an e bike versus a moped or a motorcycle.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Well, I don't mean to interrupt you, but does it matter? I'm getting to the point where it doesn't matter. If you're on the road, you're using our roadways, should you be subject to our laws, registered as a vehicle because none of these things are registered as a vehicle and have to answer to law enforcement, no matter who it is, no matter what the bike is, no matter what we call it? What's your thought on that?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Mr. Chairman, my thought is, you know, from our experience, we have a very controlled program. And with controls, you can see that it delivers safety, very little incidents. And so if there are outside of our program, if there are incidents, I think the tighter the controls, the better. And that would include laws. And CDTA would be more than happy to participate in registering our bicycles if that helps the greater good.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. I appreciate it. And I thank you. And at this time, I just want to welcome Member De Los Santos, who has joined us as well. Are there any questions? Ms. Shimsky.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: You very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for your testimony. Let's say I'm an Albany resident and I want to use an e bike to get somewhere. How do I go about obtaining one?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: There's a website, cdphpcycle.org. And you go on and you follow instructions. You need to have a valid form of payment and electronically enroll. And then at one of our locations where our, lack of a better term, docking stations or hubs are, you can go and actually unlock a bike and use it.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: So that means you have the identity of the person who has rented the bike. Also, they have some skin in the game if they're paying for it. Is there a minimum age that you enforce through your site?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: We don't enforce a minimum age. We do have a minimum height and a maximum weight restrictions. And on our site, we do so. You have to follow all applicable laws. And we do encourage the use of a helmet.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: -Okay. Okay. Thank you very much. -You're welcome.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: -Member Simon, please.

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: There we go.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a couple of questions. One is your data collection. Are you able to collect data on the users, on where there may be crashes, the various demographics of the users of your program? And then the other question is, to what extent are you able to get a handle on, let's say, the use of e bikes that are not part of the cycle program, right? Like in New York City, have City Bike. We also have people have their own e bikes. So I'm curious what that picture looks like here in Albany.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: J. To your first question, everybody who registers for the program has to provide their information, right? So we have their information. Yeah, right, they do have skin in the game because they have to provide a form of payment, which is a form of collateral. Because if the bikes aren't returned or the bikes are damaged or even if they're not returned to a docking station, there are additional charges. We do have analytics on our bicycles. We have telematics, so we know where their trips begin, where they end. We could bread crumb them. So that's important information with any transit, so we know where the needs are, right, where the most effective use is. Again, that helps us with some of our programs, like we mentioned about the Albany Housing Authority and some of the areas that need some programs. It's municipal data. So within the crashes outside of our cycle program, we do and can access. And there is also the national transit database that we do information in that would give more of a federal view of what other folks are doing with these different programs. But again, there are very few transit authorities who actually operate their own cycle or bike share programs.

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: G. L.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: And are you able to I'm not as familiar with the network here in Albany, having specific bike lanes or protected bike lanes. And who's using those bike lanes? Who is supposed to be using them? Who shouldn't be using them? Are mopeds using the bike lanes that are supposed to be used by people who are using pedal assist bicycles and that sort of thing?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: J. Yeah, that's really not information that we're actually looking at or utilizing. Again, unless there are reports, which I'm not sure we've really received any that some of our customers are being encroached on by those aforementioned things, that's not something we really look at. Okay.

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Mr. Reckis.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Thank you very much. And I want to start by commending you for the program that you've established. Why do I have so much interest? I've questioned every individual that comes up here. I built solar cars. I built electric cars. I built e bikes and e scooters for the last thirty plus years. As a matter of fact, back in the late '90s, I almost shaked myself to death thinking that I used to drill into lithium ion batteries to get a larger power density out of it. And of course, we talk about those batteries today, and that would be extremely dangerous. But the questions I have for you are so you stated that your bike share program is not with a private company. You run it, purchase the bikes yourself, and so on like

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: that? G.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: So we run it. We do have a program manager that we actually sub out to, a contractor. Okay. But we have direct oversight with that contract, day to day oversight.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: G. Did the money come from to purchase those bikes, to set up these bike lanes, and that sort of stuff? J.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Okay. So specifically with the program, we're in partnership with CDPHP, who actually sponsors this program. And then additionally, we do have some small grant funds that we use for this. And essentially, the fairs, the small fairs that we collect support. So it is built into our transportation. We do use some of our transportation funds. But again, unlike many other forms of transit, we're looking at a farebox recovery, including the sponsorship fee of about a 92% return.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Okay. And again, I want to give you big credit for this. The last question I have is you've talked about all the safety things you had, a handful of bike accidents, which is amazing, that few and all. But I wanted to ask, did you have you had any lithium ion battery fires in your oversight area?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: J. Not that I'm aware of, but I will ask our proband executive here, Jonathan.

[Jonathan Scherzer (Program Manager, CDTA)]: J. Thank you, everyone. No, we have not. And that's why Mr. Anicarro brought up the cell back technology, the storage and maintenance of those batteries. Our program started as pedal only for the first few years. So as we transitioned into electric, we immediately started with that safe charging circumstances. But we've not seen any fires to date.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Okay. Again, thank you very much. I have a number of bills that will apparently, you don't need them, but other municipalities do for the safety of these lithium ion batteries. And specifically, you talked about talking working with the Albany Fire District and trying to get training courses for all the fire districts across New York State. So thank you very much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. G. GILLIAW.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Yes, thank you. So I know what CDTA stands for. What does CDPHP stand for?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Capital District Personal Healthcare Provider.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Okay. And that, you said, has been in existence in a pilot since 2017, correct?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: That's correct.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: And you're saying that there have only been a handful of reported crashes since 2017?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Yes. Actually, I believe it's two.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: G. M. Two?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: G. Two

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: crashes. That's it on all e bikes.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: G. Two crashes reported. G.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Right. In the Capital District.

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: G.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Yeah. On our cycle, which we call Cycle is the brand, Cycle Bikes.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Okay. So I also see that you have a partnership with the Albany Fire Department, including training on proper storage and also with NYSERDA to enhance the electric charging infrastructure.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Correct.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Do you have a partnership with Albany Police so that you can get the statistics on the actual crashes that may not be reported to you?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: J. Absolutely. We continually have a dialogue with Albany Police almost daily on just in general transit operations. We could certainly go dig deeper and speak to the chief and see what specific reports would be provided to us. But I can tell you, if one of our just like if one of our buses or our paratransit vehicles or bicycles are involved in an incident, we have an immediate contact with the Albany PD.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Okay. Thank you very much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Romeo.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Thank you. Frank, it's so good to see you and really exciting to hear about these statistics, especially as it relates to safety, which is the point of the hearing today. I'm really proud to be your representative and really, really exciting to hear those statistics. We were talking a lot today about illegal e bikes, you know, bikes that are over a certain weight class, and also class one and class two throttle and pedal assist. What bikes are in CDTA's bikes? Are they class one or class two? Just curious to help us. Oh, three. Oh, Yeah. I was like, class three is in New York City. One. I don't wanna get anyone in trouble asking that question, but okay.

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: So we're class

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: would be the answer. Yes.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Right. So class one is pedal assist only, so we don't have throttle.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: PEDELISSA B. Pedal assist, and our top speed is

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: MELISSA

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: 16 miles per hour.

[Deputy Chief David G. Regina (Suffolk County Police Department; representing NYS Association of Chiefs of Police)]: Okay. Okay. B.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Awesome. And I guess, you know, maybe that is why our organization is so safe, because of those intense regulations and because it's such a low mile per hour. Would you maybe suggest that as a safety suggestion for the rest of New York state? Do you have any safety suggestions as you're here? Especially coming from New York City, as I know you did.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: G. New York City is a different region. But again, similar to the answer I provided to the chairman, it's working for us. We're using batteries that are UL listed. We're using bikes that are purchased from reputable companies. And we're, I guess, governing is the term, governing to 60 miles per hour. All these are controls that are leading to this great success. I think if others could look from this, looking back and saying, looking at experience, if we're having issues elsewhere, this works.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Great. Thanks so much, Frank.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I want to apologize to member Romero, not Romeo. Excuse me. I apologize.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Thank you, John.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Mr. Bendett.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: On the bikes, are we going to be expanding that into suburban or rural areas as well?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: We're always looking funding available to expand, absolutely. It's our most popular product right now. So yes, right now we have approximately 500 bikes. We're going to be expanding to approximately 600.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Do you have any in suburban areas or rural areas?

[Jonathan Scherzer (Program Manager, CDTA)]: Yes. So we have suburban and somewhat rural. So the community of Delmar and Bethlehem would be an example of that. We also have bikes up in Lake George and Warren County region up there. So those are a little bit more than inside the urban core. So it's got to make sense both with the built environment and also, as Frank touched on earlier, the connection to our broader route network. I was spoken here earlier about those last mile connections and opportunities. So we always put those together and try to marry it for the most intelligent deployment we can.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you very much. We appreciate your testimony and your being here. Thank you.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: Thank you. Happy to help. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Now we have Mr. Tyler Medell, program director, Shared Mobility Inc.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Okay.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Go right ahead.

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: Tyler Madele. Oh, sorry. Didn't realize I need to turn that on. Thank you. Okay. Thank you again for having me. My name is Tyler Madele. I'm program director with Shared Mobility Inc. We're a Buffalo based nonprofit that operates bike share and e bike programs across Upstate New York. Through our bike share systems, shared mobility has supported millions of trips across New York State for transportation, health, and recreation. In addition, through our e bike rebate and educational programs, we have collected hundreds of firsthand testimonials from New Yorkers describing how access to an e bike has materially impacted their lives. These are some of those testimonials. Quote, before I had an e bike, I had to walk to work forty five minutes. I don't own a car, and paying for a taxi doesn't help in my economic situation. There is no public transportation to get to my job. My e bike has made it easier to get to work and spend more time with my family, end quote. And another one, quote, my e bike got me riding again after twenty years. I feel like I'm young again. I can actually bike. At 75, I can get around town more easily, end quote. Shared Mobility Inc. Works across both shared use systems and individual access programs. It is important to note that unlike personal ownership, bike share systems operate under city contracts and local ordinances which establish clear requirements around safety standards, operations, data reporting, and oversight. This regulatory framework successfully creates accountability that does not exist in the private ownership market. Each municipality can regulate or not as they see fit. As we heard more from bikeshare users who wanted to own an e bike, it became clear what was standing in the way. People needed clear guidance on laws and safety, and they needed help with affordability. This led directly to the state's first point of sale e bike rebate programs, which we helped pilot in Westchester County for lower income residents in 2025. The results were simple and consistent. E bike rebates paired with point of sale safety education can be a clear blueprint for how to effectively promote e bike affordability and e bike safety for upstate New Yorkers. I have five key points for your consideration. First, class one and class two e bikes should be clearly distinguished in statute and regulation from other electric mobility devices. When traveling at 20 miles per hour or less, these e bikes operate much like traditional bicycles. Lumping them lumping them together with e scooters, e mopeds, and other higher speed devices creates confusion and risks misaligned policy responses. Second, e bikes are a critical transportation access tool for New Yorkers. They are particularly impactful for older adults, households that can only afford one car, and workers who need a reliable and low cost way to reach employment. By replacing short car trips, e bikes also contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, supporting New York State's broader climate and clean transportation goals and reducing burdens of vehicular congestion in New York communities. Any updates to state law should focus on improving safety without inhibiting access for these populations. Third, a public safety educational campaign must be central to New York State's approach. This includes clear point of sale public education around age requirements, safe riding behavior, and battery charging practices. The state has an opportunity to take a proactive role in educating consumers and bike shop owners about how e bikes can be used safely and responsibly. Our programs demonstrate that pairing access with education leads to better safety outcomes. Fourth, challenges observed in New York City should not be assumed to apply statewide. New York City operates at a scale and density unlike most of the state, and cities like Buffalo do not face the same issues with class one and class two e bikes. Where problems do arise upstate, they are typically related to illegal scooters, e motos, ATVs, and dirt bikes, distinct devices that should be addressed separately. One size fits all policies risk unintended consequences for Upstate and suburban communities. Fifth, the state has already demonstrated leadership by supporting e bike rebate pilots and smaller educational programs through public funding. Continued and expanded investment in e bike rebate programs for low income individuals, along with education and safety initiatives, is critical and aligns with approaches being implemented in multiple other states across the country. E bikes are already improving mobility, affordability, public health, and environmental outcomes for New Yorkers across the state. Let's continue to focus on expanding e bike access but do so in a way that advances affordability and safety. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I welcome your questions.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Well, thank you very much. And I understand what you're saying. One size doesn't fit all, and you're a good operator, and this has had many, many good consequences as far as getting people around from one place to another. And I think they're very useful. Unfortunately, we have bad actors, And they're every place. So to say carve out this, carve out that, that's something that we really will look into. I guarantee you that. But I also would like people to understand there are bad actors. And if everybody obeyed all of our traffic laws, I wouldn't have to have any of them. People would just do what's right, but they don't. I really wish I had known all of the things that were going to happen when this bill of allowing e bikes came up about what was it, five years ago, Julie? Yeah, five years ago. That bill should not have passed the way it did. That's my feeling at this moment in time. So here's my question to you after haranguing, and I apologize for that. What suggestions do you have? It's easy to say, you know, we're doing a good job. Don't push us into this. You know, we want this mobility for all the anecdotal things that you've told us, Okay? But on the other hand, I've got a problem, Okay? It's not a challenge. It's a problem. We're hurting people. We're killing people. We're causing fires. What would you suggest?

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: J. I think it really comes down to education. So I think as we've heard from some of the previous testimonies, a lot of New Yorkers don't know the law, right? The law you referenced back in 2020, one of the forward thinking things it did have was this age requirement that e bike operators need to be 16 years old or older. But a lot of New Yorkers don't know that, right? So education is a huge component and also having that education potentially at the point of sale. So when you go to buy an e bike at a reputable local bike shop in New York State, having some kind of educational program that people go through or understand about the age requirements, the speeds, that's something that we see really critical. And kind of coming from the e bike rebate pilot program I referenced earlier, this is something we've been doing on a smaller pilot scale with the e bike rebate recipients when they J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: So you would have no problem doing that in your sales?

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: J. So we don't personally sell e bikes. We facilitate programs around affordability and access.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: This what you just said addressed a question that I gave earlier to one of the other groups about, at the point of sale, we should include those educational materials that you're talking about. Who can ride the bike? And of course, that would restrict who you sell the bike to. And I also think one of the things you hadn't mentioned was a helmet should come along with every bike. Because I think that everybody I don't care what age they are should be wearing a helmet when they're riding these bikes and all. So I'm 100% with you, and I'm glad that you brought it up again. And I hope we bring it up another six to eight times before this hearing's over.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Thank you. Thank you. Thanks.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Shimsky.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay. Thank you. One quick declarative sentence. A quick sampling of my mayors, the bulk of the problem seems to be from people who are operating these things underage. And I think programs like this with the education and making sure that you are dealing with people who are old enough to handle the responsibility that comes with the speed is key here. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Ms. Simon.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Thank you. I appreciate the recommendation of helmets. It's certainly something that I support. One of the concerns that I hear about are things like people being able to afford them. Now, if you can afford your own e bike, that's maybe a different situation. But if you're using, for example, a system that is a docking station kind of system, right, Having your own helmet can be a factor. And then there are other issues with people who earn a living through using e bikes, for example. It's not just transportation to work, but it is their work. And we have a lot of and I'm in New York City, so it's a different ballgame

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: but a lot

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: of people who are delivering food and different kinds of products. And very often, they're not people who have a great deal of money. And so these things like having a license or having to have a helmet, etcetera, can be a barrier for them. What is your view on that?

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: J. Thank you for the question.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Or whether it's maybe it's an issue in your neck of the woods as well. J.

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: Yeah, absolutely. I can give an example from our e bike rebate program, which we launched, which I was referencing. So in that program, people that participate, lower income people can apply and get a discount off the purchase of an e bike. But it has to be an e bike from a local bike shop that is UL certified, fully compliant with New York State law passed in 2024 regarding e bike UL certified. Also, people get a free helmet with that and a free lock. And when they go to buy their bike and this is key they go through an education quick education program with the bike shop around battery safety, charging, top speeds, all these essentials so they understand all those things. And I think that's a really critical thing to have. And we base this off of what we saw from other states that have done e bike incentive programs around affordability. Because what we've seen in New York State, proliferation, you know, in the last few years of these unsafe e bikes, non UL certified. But those are cheaper, right? So people can't have difficulty affording UL certified bikes, these bikes from local bike shops, and having an incentive or rebate program that, number one, provides a little affordability boost but also really emphasizes safety, education, and potentially a helmet with that. I think that's really critical.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: I have one other follow-up question. Do you have your experience, but also do you have some data? One of the challenges that we find is people being in bike lanes that are going too fast or going the wrong way down the street. This is a huge issue and also on sidewalks, which is also a safety issue. But if anything, is your experience with that? How have you handled it?

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: I can't speak to that personally with our programs. I think there'll be future speakers that could speak more to the infrastructure dynamic. Yeah.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you very much, sir. We appreciate your testimony. Thank you for being here.

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Is Miller Nuttall here? I guess he is. Okay, we were looking if you had checked in.

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Sorry about that.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I guess you

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: didn't. Okay.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Go right ahead.

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: J. All right. Good afternoon, Chair Magnarelli and members of the Assembly Standing Committee on Transportation. My name is Miller Nuttall, and I'm the policy director for Lyft Urban Solutions.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I just have to ask, did you submit any written? J.

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Yes. I did online earlier, and then I have copies here if you'd like.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay. We'll get it. Okay. Thank you.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: J. M.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Never mind. Thank you.

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Again, my name is Miller Nuttall. I'm the policy director for Lyft Urban Solutions, which owns and operates Citi Bike in New York City and New Jersey. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on the critical role of electric bikes, or e bikes, in advancing New York's transportation goals. Within the city bike program and New York at large, e bikes have emerged as a vital pillar of urban mobility, rapidly driving mode shift, increasing the safety in numbers effect, and delivering affordable transportation options for New Yorkers. I want to talk about three dimensions of e bikes and their benefits, in particular, mode shift, equity, and safety. On the first point, e bikes have fundamentally redefined what is possible on two wheels in New York City. They are no longer an alternative mode of transportation. They are essential for long range travel and interborough connectivity. The evidence of this demand is clear. City bike riders have taken over 105,000,000 e bike rides since we launched the product, and e bikes now account for over 70% of trips in the city bike system, even though they currently make up less than half of the total fleet. Nowhere is this utility more visible than our city's bridges and in between our boroughs. Currently, nearly 90% of city bike trips between boroughs and over bridges occur on e bikes. By removing the physical barrier of steep inclines and long distances, e bikes are facilitating a massive mode shift, allowing New Yorkers to choose a sustainable option over a private car for trips that were previously seen as too strenuous. On the point of equity, equity is at the heart of the e bike boom. E bikes are proving to be the great equalizer for New Yorkers who live in transit deserts or have physically demanding commutes. Citi Bike's reduced fare bike share program offers New Yorkers who live in NYCHA housing or qualify for federal benefits access to the Citi Bike program for $5 a month and e bike rates that are half of that of full price membership. These riders take nearly twice as many trips as full price members and take over 75% of those trips on e bikes. That means that low income New Yorkers are taking nearly 4,000,000 e bike rides to access jobs, medical care, and exercise on an annual basis. For these New Yorkers, the electric assist is not just a convenience, it's a critical tool that makes cycling a reliable and efficient way to reach work, school, and essential services regardless of geography, gaps in the transit network, or physical ability. Finally, safety, as e bike usage has skyrocketed, concerns about safety have naturally followed. However, the data reveals a different story for shared micro mobility. Safety in numbers is a proven phenomenon. As more people cycle, drivers become more aware, and the rates of crashes actually decrease. E bikes are propelling this trend by bringing a larger and more diverse group of New Yorkers onto the streets. As The New York Times reported recently, as of 2022, about the time that e bikes have become a major percentage of overall e bikes in New York City, the rate of deaths and severe injuries was about sixteen per 10,000,000 bike rides, down from over twice that, or thirty four per 10,000,000 rides a decade earlier. Crucially, Citi Bikes' crash record, like the other bikeshare program I mentioned, is lower than the rate of crash among bicycling overall in New York City. Despite the exponential growth of our e bike fleet, the program's safety record has remained remarkably strong. The success of e bikes in New York City is a clear signal from the public. They want a transportation system that is safe, equitable, and capable of moving them across the entire city without a car. We urge the committee to continue supporting the expansion of safe, legal, and shared e bike infrastructure as a cornerstone of our state's transportation strategy. Thank you for your time and commitment to a more connected New York.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Well, thank you very much, sir. I appreciate your testimony. But as I had stated to the last speaker, I understand what you're doing. I understand the benefits that are there. I'm not arguing with any of that. The problem is a safety problem. We have crashes. We have people who are getting hurt. And we have to do something about it. Unfortunately or fortunately, you're in the business. So my question is, we've heard about education and educating the public more. But is there anything else that you would suggest to this committee as we start deliberating on what we should do about these safety issues?

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: J. Yeah, absolutely. Of course, education is vitally important. Get that out of the way. We do it in a lot of different ways. Yep. I think the importance of infrastructure can't be overstated. There have been fatalities on city bikes in the past. They have followed the trend of most fatal crashes in New York City, which is on streets without protected bicycling infrastructure, most commonly in collisions with trucks. So if you want to think about how to actually prevent these crashes from happening in the first place, addressing the underlying infrastructure on the streets is vitally important. I know there's various levels of jurisdiction, but that is the preeminent thing you could do to make our streets safer. If you're getting hit by a truck, it doesn't matter what sort of bike you're riding. Sorry

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: to interrupt, but trucks are going to be on the streets, at least for the foreseeable future.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Sure.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Understood. What

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: would you suggest we do there?

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Well, the important part is building protected biking and walking infrastructure to keep people out of harm's way and out of each other's way. That's the most important thing. The other thing that you've talked about and I don't want to get too far out of my lane. There are other advocates here who could speak more to the nuances of classification. But there is a distinction between class one and class two e bikes in particular and other out of class vehicles. Distinction is really important to follow. City bike are all class one e bikes. And the speed differential, the size of the bikes of one of our e bikes versus something that basically operates as a motorcycle is super important to pay attention to and legislate accordingly.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. I appreciate that. Questions? Ms. Hooks?

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Hello.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Hi. First, I'm just going to make a statement, and then I'll ask my questions. If communities don't feel they have a voice in decisions that change their sidewalks and streets, how do we expect how do you expect them to trust or support micro mobility expansion? There was no equity throughout communities on the actual placements of these of the bike racks for the regular bikes or the e bikes. My community alone is already struggling with parking spots because I have the only community that is connected to a or across the street from an airport, and I don't think that that was taken into consideration when the bike placements were placed in East Elmhurst. I have made many mention that this is a huge issue because travelers from everywhere else coming to East are parking already in our community, so it's hard to park. And then when you place the placements, you there's like one every two blocks of length. So it's around 20 in Jesse Stellmhurst alone

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Mhmm.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Which is no equity when I go to other communities where how many is placed. And then you take up three to four spots. So in certain areas, it may be great. They may love the bikes, but not in a natural occurring retirement community. They aren't biking. They aren't taking e bikes. They aren't riding bikes. So my questions are: When a city bike dock is placed in the neighborhood, residents often learn about it only once installation begins. What advance notice, if any, is provided to the community and the district office? And who ultimately has the authority to override local concerns? And what are the procedures of for having certain placements removed when they aren't being utilized?

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Thank you for your question. A bit about how the city bike program is structured. So Lyft Urban Solutions is the provider. We manufacture the equipment and run the operations of the system. New York City Department of Transportation does all of the siting and system design work. So I think these questions are probably better directed to them. They're the ones who are making the decisions about where the stations go. They do run a robust public input process and involves notifications to the borough commission of DOT, community boards, relevant neighborhood stakeholders. And I know they always welcome input on the groups and individuals who should be included in those notices. So I'm happy to follow-up with the email and the staff who facilitate the program from the city side because they're the ones who can make adjustments to that process.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Please do because as a former community board member, Community Board Three Queens, we didn't get notice until they were already outlined in the streets.

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Happy to share that information.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Thank you.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Yeah.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Ms. Simon, please.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: So I have the other problem. We all have a problem with not enough parking, etcetera. We don't have a district across the street from an airport, But I have other attractive nuisances, including Downtown Brooklyn, major highways, etcetera, etcetera. So I have a lot of city bike stations came into my district. We are the place where they pilot everything. But the issues, which I realize you're not the city DOT, about where those docking stations are, the notice to community, the community board is and my husband was on the community board for years they don't have an ability to communicate to the public. They really don't. Most people don't even know there is one. So you're not a public entity, but there has to be some way that we communicate better with people with regard to where these things are going. The other thing with regard to bike lanes and again, you're not the DOT, but you have developed a sense of expertise and a sense of what works, what kind of design works. We just had this issue on Court Street. The rollout was particularly poor. Yes, they talked to people on the weekend, people walking by. They didn't really talk to the people they needed to talk to, DOT. And there are some challenges with my favorite is the EV charging station that is on the other side of the bike lane next to a place that is no parking. So who's charging anything there? So there are some design issues there that the right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing. Your riders are on these bike lanes all the time. What guidance can you give or how can you help better bridge that gap between the DOT, for example, and the user public? You can't control whether people are going the wrong way down the bike lane, which is a big problem, by the way. But if we have protected bike lanes, how do we design them in a way that people have noticed but also people can use them?

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: J. Yeah, it's a great question. I think you're right that a lot of those are important pieces of feedback for the city DOT. And again, happy to I'm sure you're already in touch with them, but happy to provide relevant What emails there as we do do is encourage our riders to be responsible citizens while they're riding their bikes. Of course, they're beholden to all of the traffic laws as they would be driving a vehicle. And we remind them that it's important to use bike facilities if they're available, yield to pedestrians, give trucks plenty of extra space. We have a targeted campaign specifically for e bike riders in particular that focuses on some of the nuances of riding an e bike. So we try to reach them and get them to ensure, most importantly, that they're yielding to pedestrians and being respectful New Yorkers to the extent that they can be.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Okay. Not getting very far, but okay. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Shimsky, please.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Thank you very much. I'm not sure that you are the witness to be asked this, but I think when we're talking about overall traffic safety, it's not just important to know the crash rate, the injury rate, and the fatality rate for e bike users, but how that compares to pedestrians and people in vehicles. Do you have that information or is that something I need to find one of our other witnesses to help me with?

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: J. I think probably members of the DMV or the advocates here today could provide that information.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: J. Okay. Okay, great. Thank you very much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. You very much for your testimony. We appreciate it.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Of course.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Thanks for having me.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Be safe out there.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. L. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Janet Schroeder, director, New York City e Vehicle Safety Alliance. It is. It is.

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: Okay.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Just have to ask, did you submit any written testimony?

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Yes. I'll be leaving it behind, parental. I didn't submit it beforehand. It's a little loud.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Can you hear me okay? Yes. First of all, I want to say thank you so much, Assembly Member Magnarelli, for inviting me, Janet Schroeder, on behalf of the New York City E Vehicle Safety Alliance to speak on behalf of the victims, to speak from a different point of view that you may not be hearing today and some real solutions to e vehicle safety. As I said, I'm the director of New York City E Vehicle Safety Alliance. We formed in 2022. We are grassroots, unpaid, unfunded, little different from maybe some organizations that speak here, of 1,500 plus members, including 119 victims of e vehicle violence. I speak on behalf of them and potential victims, future victims. Over 250 members of ours, of the 1,500, are cyclists. We're not anti bike. We're not anti ebike at all. Though many of our cyclists fear being hit by reckless ebike riders and no longer cycle. We are pro safety. We're really not anti anything. EBSA's one hundred and nineteen victims are a small percentage of the New York City victims. Their injuries in our group include twenty eight skull fractures, nineteen traumatic brain injuries, paralysis, thirty seven broken ribs, four broken hips, vision loss, severe lacerations, and every other broken bone you can think of. I'm here today to urge you to sign Priscilla's law. This is a solution, and we're here today to talk about those solutions. A 339ASlashS2599. It's named after Priscilla Locke, an immigrant, 69 years old, who was killed by a pedal assist e city bike, no throttle, just a motor, in Chinatown in September 2023. She was walking legally in a crosswalk. Her family are EBSMA members and speak in favor of Priscilla's law. This critically important public safety bill will require all e bikes and e scooters, including e city bikes, in New York City's over 1,000,000 people so that's New York City to bear a visible license plate so that you're holding accountable the reckless e vehicle riding that has taken over our streets and sidewalks. Because consequence is what shapes behavior. And thus far, there has been absolutely no consequence for mowing down pedestrians and cyclists and leaving the scene of the crash, which is something we really must address. Therefore, the horror continues today and every day all over our city. Adding more infrastructure, so bike lanes, wider bike lanes, and protected bike lanes, I ask you how that stops a bike from speeding through a red light. That's the problem we're trying to address, crashing into other cyclists, pedestrians, dogs. So once traffic enforcement cameras can record behavior of e vehicle riders, they'll link the egregious riding behavior to the rider and send them a ticket just like they do for cars or or buses. Changing rider behavior is what will improve the deadly and injurious riding that's going on. All members of the New York City delegation, council members, whatnot, have constituents relentlessly telling us of their concerns about reckless e vehicles. We've met with the majority of them, and it's often the top concern in New York City that they hear from their constituents. There is a city bill, Bill six zero six, also called Priscilla's Law. So why has nothing been done by the city? And I hope that you'll think it's Okay that I tell you why we at EBSA think nothing's been done. It's because there's a wealthy powerful bike lobby called Transportation Alternatives whose main goal is more ridership at all costs. Right? And there is money tied to all this. They endorse candidates through Streets Pack, and they get huge annual donations from Lyft, Citi Bike, and delivery app companies like Uber and DoorDash. It's all on their donation website. That's 100 plus, so it's way over that. We feel they're valuing money over safety. They were able to pull members off the city bill. We had 34 council members out of 51 sign Priscilla's law two years ago. But Transall lobbied them hard, and we lost a few of them and were not able to get the automatic hearing that the majority of New Yorkers wanted. But this is really important. We're talking about crash stats today. The DOTE vehicle crash stats are incredibly inaccurate. One hundred and nineteen victims in EFSA, eight have police reports. So eight of them show up on the crash stats. Deaths show up. They come from the morgue. Crashes do not unless a New York, police officer actually fills out a report and, therefore, the DOT sees it. On our website, you'll see Jeanine Barry and others talk about how many times they tried to report. But more importantly, police aren't often at the scene. The ambulance comes, takes them to hospital. By the time the person gets out of the hospital, they don't know how to report. It's the last thing on their mind. They have hospital bills. And then by the time they go to go to a precinct, they're often told that it's too late. There's a lot of misinformation even with the different precincts. So the majority of e vehicle crashes aren't reported. And that's something that we have to start talking about because when we're looking at stats and saying, oh, it's not that bad, that's just not true. So I just want to touch on three arguments before I stop here. The transportation alternatives J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Now, your time is up. So I would like you to Can I wrap wrap up?

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. M.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Me the three things that you want say very quickly.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: J. They say it's the cars. Yes, cars are dangerous. More people are killed by cars. Yes. But they require license registration inspection and insurance. That's why we didn't start a car organization. This is an unmet need. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, but we still try to find a cure for breast cancer. It's not either or. E bikes weigh 50 to 150 pounds. They brake more slowly. They go faster. And they're often ridden on autopilot. They are not bicycles. Registration of e vehicles unfairly targets immigrants. And this is the last point that I want to make. In twenty twenty three, thirty bikers died in NYC, and twenty three of them were e were e bikers, mostly delivoristas. Of those twenty three, seven hit stationary objects, parked cars, benches. This bill will save the lives of e bikers too. That's what we wanna do by forcing a change in riding behavior. In 2025, commissioners Tisch started the, NYPD issuing sea summonses that require a rider who stopped at a checkpoint for breaking a a rule to attend a mandatory court hearing in person were not for c summonses, never were. But she stated, the reason we have c summonses is, quote, because of the lack of licensing to hold riders accountable. So passing enacting Priscilla's law immediately does away with the need for sea summonses. Traffic enforcement cameras do the work, not police. Traffic cameras capture the egregious behavior of the riders, not a rider's appearance. Send them a ticket. Cameras don't discriminate. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Well, I've been called the camera guy, by the way. So I'm not afraid of putting cameras up. And I do think that we do have to enforce the rules. I'm not clear on what you were talking about. You talked about a Rockemar bill, the first bill that was in Okay, the forget that. What is this other bill in the city council that you couldn't get passed? Or what did it Just for my own J.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Thank you. It's also Priscilla's law. She was killed in New York City.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Okay. J.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: And it is Bill six zero six. And it was written two and a half years ago. And we have, you know, a majority of council members signed it.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: What does it do?

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: J. It's the same exact bill. It's requiring license plate and registration for all e vehicles, including

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: For all vehicles. That's what you're looking for. That's what you're looking for.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: That's what we're looking for.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Same as the state bill. Just I

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: got it.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Got I got it. Okay. Are there any other questions? Mr. Ricus. Thank

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: you very much for your testimony. I am completely unfamiliar with Priscilla's law. Who has that bill here in the assembly?

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Jennifer Rajkamar.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Okay.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: And the senator is Adabo.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Okay. For my own information

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Thank you. I should have stated that.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: It sounded when you started out that you were we've discussed registration of e vehicles and the difficulty of that at this point. You know, e vehicles, even that qualify, that come without VIN numbers and so on like that. And it sounded to me like you started out with you needed to simply identify the vehicle that created the accident. I'm not so sure if it's going to take us quite a while to get registration that we really need to go that far as much as we just need to have every one of these e bikes to have some sort of identifying plaque plate on them or something like that.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: It's a start.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: GLA. Yeah. That would be something that I certainly would look at. Again, I'm not from New York City. I'm not from Buffalo. I'm in the Hudson Valley.

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: So a

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: lot of these things do not necessarily apply to me. But I want to help as much as I can those areas with what we can do. And what we can do we're having this meeting this year J.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Yes, thank you so much.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Because we want to take care of this or do something now.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: J. Very appreciated.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: L. There's an idea that I just heard I thought from you, and I was just going to reiterate.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: J. I appreciate. I just want to add a quick thought to that. So a lot of people think that the solution might be to have the delivery apps actually register the e bikes. Riders deliveries just ride for three different apps at the same time DoorDash, Uber Eats, Seamless. Who's going to do it? And then what about when they're not riding? When they're riding to and from work, when they're riding for pleasure, what about independent riders that aren't, you know, working for delivery apps? And what about city bike riders? So we think the simple solution is to visible plate, not driver's license, for all e vehicles so that when they flee the scene of a crash, they can be held accountable. The man who killed Priscilla on the city bike, he did get a ticket. He got, I think, a $100 ticket.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Jo Anne, did you want a question? Go ahead.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: So thank you very much for your testimony. I think probably a few of my constituents are involved with your group.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Definitely.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: And so one of the concerns I have is that what I hear from constituents are not just e bikes issues with bicycles driving the wrong way down the bike lane or driving on the sidewalks, etcetera, etcetera. So I don't know whether you make a distinction in terms of what it is you're looking for. I do have a bill on the delivery apps because they overpromise how quickly they can deliver. And they encourage people to go 100 too percent. And we have found out from the restaurants that they don't actually get the order right away. But the app, the person putting in the order, thinks that they're fifteen minutes from when they put it in. It's five and onetwo, ten minutes later before the restaurant gets the order. So they're all racing around to accommodate that. And I have seen some changes. And I think that the Deliversita Union has been very effective in educating their members on proper safety. So we have seen some improvement on the sidewalk stuff, for example. That's good to hear. One of the challenges, I think, is this piece about education between the different types of vehicles, because it's very hard to do public education. So if you have proposals about how to effectuate that, that would work. And the other thing is we don't know. We don't have reporting on a lot of this issue because we don't have cops there. And by the time a police officer gets there, it's gone. And so those sort of violations are going the wrong direction in the bike lane or riding on the sidewalk with a moped. There's nobody there to report that to. So I guess that's one of the biggest challenges I think we have that certainly is an issue that's been brought to me by my constituents. So I guess my question is what recommendations or what thoughts have your group done around finding ways that we might be able to help facilitate enforcement of these

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: J. We see enforcement as accountability. Police can't chase down e bikes. That's why cameras can catch them as they do a bus in you know, a car in a bus lane. And we believe that consequence of getting a ticket will ultimately change behavior more than asking nicely and handing out a pamphlet around education, which is all a nice supplemental thing. But this has been five years. I question that e bike, accidents are less. I do not believe that at all, not from what we see and hear because we have ER doctors in our group. And I would have loved to have brought one today. I asked if I could, but you have too many people. But maybe he can come another time. He calls it a public health crisis. Doctor. Angela Masia from St. Barnabas Hospital, he says he sees four to six crashes, victims a day in his one ER, which if you add up is more than what the DOT stats have for the year. So we go back to Priscilla's law as being the solution. It seems like five years of education and task forces, many I've been on, were still having the same problem. And we think accountability is the answer. We really do.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Thank you.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: And thank you for your bill.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Oh, you're welcome.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: It is true that delivery apps incentivize speed. That that must be a bill that they can no longer do that. That's where they need to get, involved. And the Citi Bike gentleman that spoke, I I don't know if he's dialed there, but we we would love it if there was education when people get on a Citi Bike that haven't ridden it before, what the main four rules of the law of the road are. No speeding, running red lights, wrong way, or riding on sidewalks in different languages. There could be more safety protocols put in place. That would be a great bill too.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: You know, have to tell you that one of the things that drives me berserk there are many things that drive me berserk. But one of them is the dad who's not on an e bike, it's not a city bike, it's just a bicycle with two kids behind them going the wrong way down a bike lane.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Yes. We see it And

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: we I see that all the time.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: We see it all. The thing about e bikes is they are so heavy. And now the the big fat tired ones that are out there weigh one hundred and fifty pounds, and that's what killed, Teresa Valente this year in in Brooklyn coming up stepping off a bus. They are extremely heavy. And even 50 pounds, I mean, you know, Priscilla was killed by an e city bike. So the speed and the weight

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: The physics of it

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: all. Yeah.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Thank you.

[Janet Schroeder (Director, NYC e‑Vehicle Safety Alliance)]: Thank you. Thank you very much. Really appreciate you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Appreciate your testimony. Thank you.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Thank

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: you. Noah Burroughs, the senior manager of state and local policy for People for Bikes Coalition.

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: Morning, chair and members of Good morning.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Good morning.

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: My name is Noah Murturko. I am the senior manager of state and local policy for People for Bikes, which is the US Bicycle Industry Trade Association. I appreciate the opportunity to testify today on this important issue. People for Bikes represents more than three forty industry suppliers and nearly 1,400,000 supporters across the country, including more than 32,000 New Yorkers. People for Bikes believes that we can make biking and roads better for everyone through safe infrastructure, smart policy, and expanded participation. We have long supported enforceable safety standards for electric bicycles and other micromobility devices. And we believe unsafe and unregulated products should be kept off the market while manufacturers meeting recognized safety standards should be allowed to operate undisrupted. In 2023, we supported Senate Bill 154, which strengthened battery safety requirements and enforcement against unsafe products. We also developed the nationally recognized three class e bike model, which defines and regulates electric bicycles. That model has now been adopted in whole or in part by 46 states and the federal government, though not fully by the state of New York. So we appreciate your effort to continue to focus on improving safety while preserving equitable transportation. So today, when I refer to low speed electric bicycles, I'm specifically referring to class one and class two e bikes as defined by the Federal Consumer Protective Safety Commission. So class one e bikes provide pedal assistance up to 20 miles per hour. Class two e bikes provide motor assistance up to 20 miles per hour, at which point the motor cuts off. These are the electric bicycles recognized federally by most states. They do not include heavier, higher speed electric vehicles, including some throttle powered bikes operating at 25 miles per hour in New York City, which are treated as motor vehicles in other jurisdictions. Low speed electric bicycles are a proven transportation tool. They reduce car trips, ease congestion, and expand mobility for seniors, people with disabilities, and working New Yorkers who rely on affordable and efficient transportation. But New York's current e bike statute is an outlier nationwide. While most states and the CPSC recognize the three standardized classes of e bikes, New York's unique definition of class three bicycle with electric assist has created confusion and some unintended consequences. In New York City, class three e bikes are defined as maximum speed of 25 miles per hour on motor propulsion alone. Elsewhere in The United States, class three e bikes are pedal assist with a top assisted speed of 28 miles per hour, while class two e bikes are limited to 20 miles per hour on throttle alone. Because New York does not recognize the standard three class pedal assist definition, many major bicycle manufacturers have avoided the New York market across the state entirely. This gap has been filled by a smaller number of heavier, faster, and poorly regulated electric delivery vehicles, vehicles that are not designed for bike lanes but are often operated in them. This has compromised safety for riders, pedestrians, and drivers alike. And it underscores the need for a clear, consistent definition that aligns with national standards and targets the true sources of the risk. So People for Bikes urges the legislature to update vehicle and traffic laws section 102 to align with the nationally recognized three class e bike model. This change would clearly distinguish low speed electric bicycles from electric mopeds and motorcycles, which are often confused in these contexts. It would restore clarity for manufacturers, retailers, riders, and enforcement. It would improve street safety by ensuring the right vehicles are operating in the right spaces. Aligning New York law with federal and national standards would simplify compliance, improve safety outcomes, and expand accessible to affordable low speed transportation. The legislature may also consider addressing high speed electric vehicles that are often misleadingly sold as e bikes that are, in fact, electric mopeds and motorcycles, sometimes referred to e motos. And I want to hit on that again because these are oftentimes the products that look like e bikes. They may have pedals, but they're not operable. They're specifically sold by the manufacturers to mislead consumers, often aimed at children or parents who would like to be buying their children appropriate vehicles or appropriate bicycles. But these are sold as e bikes and they're not e bikes. These are the ones that you're thinking of that can do wheelies and go 40 miles per hour. Those are e motos. Those should be regulated appropriately, including license, registration, and consumer protection standards to prevent deceptive marketing while also protecting legal low speed electric bicycles that have been such a positive for the state. Additionally, continued investment in safe, complete streets is essential. Protected bike lanes, traffic calming, and lower speed limits, including those enabled by Sandy's law and others, reduces crashes for everyone. They make the roads safer for drivers, pedestrians, and riders. Many parts of the state, especially in New York City, these investments are working with neighborhoods across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens ranking among the best places in the country to ride based on safety and connectivity. Obviously, that's not a blanket statement. Not all these neighborhoods have the same access. Low speed electric bicycles are a core part of New York's transportation system today and in the future. So policies addressing their growth must be precise and evidence based. It must focus on real risks and designed to protect public safety without cutting off accessible, affordable, sustainable mobility. So People for Bikes stands ready to assist with any of these. We appreciate your time today, and I welcome any thoughts or questions.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you very much. Are there any questions?

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: That good, No.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Hold on a second. You almost got out of here. Member Hooks.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Okay.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Hi. Thank you for being here.

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Micro mobility is often discussed as progress, but progress looks different depending on who is asked. I say that because I actually have never been hit by a car, but I have been run over by a bike. Literally flipped up in the air, down, injuries and everything. Do you believe communities should have the ability to slow or reshape micro mobility expansion in their district if safety and accessibility concerns aren't being addressed?

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: J. Absolutely. I think there should be a typology for each neighborhood. There is no one size fits all for bicycle or other infrastructure, and that should be taken into account and can't really be done responsibly without local input. 100%.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: How would you design a statewide policy that values community consent without stopping innovation?

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: You know, I would defer to one of our other speakers today to really address that. I think it would require a lot of collaboration at the local level in addition to the statewide DOT, etcetera.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Keep coming up. Okay. Thank you.

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Mr. Recus. Thank you. A real quick question. Peoples for Bikes represents more than three forty bicycle industry suppliers. Do you have strict requirements for those suppliers, like that they all have UL classified

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Absolutely. Batteries

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: and so

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: Yes. These are all these are safe. These are UL certified. They're EN certified. We don't take manufacturers that are producing the e modos, etcetera. We're really rigorous about that. And that's why we helped develop that three class system.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Okay. Thank you. Thank

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: you.

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I appreciate your testimony. I know we all do. Thank you very much for being here.

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: Appreciate that.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay. Adam A. L. A. Workshop director, Go Bike Buffalo. Go right ahead, sir.

[Adam A. Annie (Workshop Director, Go Bike Buffalo)]: Afternoon, honorable chair and assembly members. Thanks for having me today. My name is Adam A. Annie, and I'm the workshop director at Go Bike Buffalo, an organization in Western New York dedicated to making our streets safer for all road users. For the past fifteen years, I've worked in our community bike shops where we provide free and low cost bicycles as well as the space, tools, and training to maintain them. I'm here today to speak to you about how electric bicycles, ebikes, have impacted our community. I'd like to make three points for your consideration. Ebikes are a boon to New Yorkers. Through our community workshops and traffic safety education programs, we've interacted with thousands of Western New Yorkers and hear their stories. E bikes have opened doors that were previously closed to many of our community members, providing access to mobility that a traditional bicycle simply could not. E bikes are currently providing an affordable alternative to car ownership to people who can't afford a car, disabled cyclists, older cyclists, and everyone who has encountered a headwind or is bringing home groceries. Additionally, they're making it easier for New Yorkers to get to work. One such example is a program we helped establish with Verdi, a Buffalo based battery manufacturer that builds generators for field use. Like many manufacturers, they struggle to find and retain a consistent workforce. When they examine the issue more closely, they discover that transportation to work was a major barrier. One in four households in Buffalo does not own a car, and a large portion of our regions hurt transit deserts, leaving people disconnected from employment opportunities. We helped the Verdez set up a loan program that allowed employees to purchase e bikes. So far, 25 e bikes have been delivered through this program, along with service and safety training. When we performed maintenance this past December, just a few months after the program was launched, I was surprised to see thousands of miles on some of the odometers. That speaks directly to the unmet transportation need that these workers had and to how essential e bikes are to filling that gap. Point two, e motors are not e bikes. I want to begin by noting the legal definition of an e bike under New York state law. An e bike is a bicycle with an electric assist that fits into the state's class system. Outside of the five boroughs, e bikes are limited to class one or two, both of which are capped at 750 watts and provide motor assistance only up to 20 miles per hour. E motos are higher wattage mopeds or motorcycles marketed as bikes and don't fall within the New York State classification for an e bike. They are faster and heavier than e bikes and shouldn't be lumped together with the same regulations as the traditional e bike. Point three, please reconsider the prohibition of cycling on roads listing listed over 30 miles per hour. I'd like to share a story of one Western New Yorker that illustrates a deficiency in our current e bike law. Jim Page, a retired civil servant and longtime volunteer with the organization, has been able to continue cycling into his seventies thanks to his class two e bike. Like many people in our region, Jim rides from surrounding suburbs in the Buffalo, easily completing a 15 mile trip and stopping to shop or have lunch along the way. The problem Jim faces is that under the current law, he's breaking the law almost immediately after leaving his driveway. New York state law bans e bikes from any road with posted speed limits higher than 30 miles per hour, a restriction that does not apply to traditional b cles. This provision disproportionately burdens riders in rural and suburban communities and makes it harder to use e bikes for practical transportation. To truly connect our communities, we must address this section of law and allow e bike riders access to the roads that take them where they need to go. In conclusion, if we want to grow our local manufacturing base, strengthen our economy, connect people to work, making it easier and safer for people to e bike must be part of that plan. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you, sir, for your time. And do we have any questions for this gentleman? So what you're basically saying in your testimony is that there should be some exception to where you can pedal an e bike even if the speed limit is higher than 30.

[Adam A. Annie (Workshop Director, Go Bike Buffalo)]: So currently, you're prohibited on an e bike from riding on, let's say, a road that's posted at 45 miles per hour. I'm proposing that we change that so that it would allow e bikers to ride on that road. Most of the surrounding suburbs of Buffalo, and I imagine elsewhere, are connected to downtowns and to other communities with roads that are posted at 35 miles per

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: hour. I'm just trying to get my head around that. If we opened it up to 40 miles an hour, there's I I mean, don't know how we there's no exceptions.

[Adam A. Annie (Workshop Director, Go Bike Buffalo)]: J. Well, currently on a traditional bicycle, can ride on a road that's posted at 40 miles per hour. And as long as I'm observing all of New York state's traffic laws, I'm a legal road user. I'm saying that we could bring that into line with the way the traditional bike law is handled.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I think again, I think that some of the bad actors, the higher classified e bikes, the motorcycles, I think we need to get our arms around that first. I don't know. I may be wrong. That's why we have these hearings.

[Adam A. Annie (Workshop Director, Go Bike Buffalo)]: J. Sure.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: L. Any other questions? Rubenstein: Thank you very much, sir. You came all the way in from Buffalo? J. I did. Please drive safely. Okay, going back. Thank you. J. You very much. Laura Vineyard, executive director, the Center for Community Transportation and Ithaca Bike Share. Laura? Hello. You hear me all right? Thank

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: you to the committee for inviting me to speak today. My name's Laura LARA Vineyard. I'm the director of the Center for Community Transportation based in Ithaca, New York. CCT is a five zero one(three) nonprofit organization that is home to three essential alternative transportation programs, Ithaca Car Share, Ithaca Bike Share, and Bike Walk Tompkins. CCT launched the Ithaca Bike Share program in 2023 in partnership with NYSERDA and e bike manufacturer Drop Mobility. It's been extremely popular inception with ridership increasing year over year. Ithaca Bike Share's fleet consists of class one pedal assist e bikes with a maximum speed of 16 miles per hour. We use a dockless parking system with GPS mapping to identify target parking zones in our community. Users can park anywhere in the system, but if they do so outside of the designated zones, they have to pay an additional parking fee. There's some challenges particular to this system, but this design allows our program to be highly adaptable to the community's needs and more affordable to run because we do not have to build or maintain bike parking structures. Depending on bike availability, our members can literally ride from their front door to their exact destination, making Ithaca Bike Share an extremely efficient way to get around town. Ithaca Bikeshare is more than an additional service. It's essential transportation. Our system connects people to jobs, school, health care, grocery, and community. For many resident residents, especially those in low income neighborhoods, it's one of the most affordable ways to reliably get around. The typical ride is four to five minutes long, going from A to B, indicating that these are functional trips rather than long round trip rides that characterize recreation. Over the last three years, we've seen consistent meaningful growth in ridership. Trips increased more than 30% from 2023 to 2025. Annual ridership is over 95,000 trips, and this growth happened without major marketing budgets or operational funding. It happened because people needed the service to get around. It's worth noting that this number of trips was possible in our small city with fewer than 200 bikes deployed per day on average. These are remarkable usage numbers in comparison with a much larger system in another region of New York state, which has a 100,000 trips with 400 plus bikes deployed daily. One of our proudest achievements with Ithaca Bike Share is that 25% of all trips are taken by low income members through our easy access program. This program is run-in collaboration with the local transportation demand management agency, Go Ithaca. Individuals who qualify with income at or below 150% of The US federal poverty guideline can ride Ithaca Bike Share for free for up to sixty minutes per day. The introduction of e bikes has been transformative to Ithaca. People say Ithaca is gorgeous, which is true, but the steep terrain is a significant barrier to the accessibility of biking as a commuting mode. With e bikes, seniors, people with disability, and people who do not want to exercise on their way to work can ride comfortably, which is opening up a whole new population of cyclists. Furthermore, longer trips are now possible, and we're seeing many connections from the more rural areas to our city center. It's worth noting that the increase in biking that we're seeing in Ithaca is happening in spite of a lack of bike friendly infrastructure. Ithaca has no protected bike lanes, minimal painted bike lanes, and rough roads with many potholes. Nevertheless, ever more people are riding Ithaca bike share or their own e bikes, which reduces traffic congestion, parking issues, and wear on our roads. As a bike sharing system operator, we are aware of concerns about e bikes posing a risk to pedestrians if they're ridden on sidewalks. The vast majority of Ithaca Bikeshare's users are eager to be compliant with our system's parking and riding guidelines. But when individuals perceive a roadway as dangerous, they will choose a safer route. The best strategy to reduce pedestrian and e bike conflict is to build roadways that include bike friendly architecture, like bike lanes. Ithaca Bike Share has been tremendously successful in our community, and it is a standout system in the industry. That said, New York State needs to make two key moves to foster this active transportation mode and improve public safety. Number one, increase funding and implementation of bike and pedestrian friendly road infrastructure. And two, establish a financial mechanism to provide operational funding support for bike sharing and scooter sharing systems. Even with higher than average rider usage and significant community support, Ithaca Bikeshare struggles to continue its service. The reality is that only systems in big cities have the potential to sustain service through rider revenue alone. The majority of bikeshare systems must receive external operational funding just like bus systems because if riders were charged the true cost of a ride, they wouldn't use it. New York State has an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and road wear, improve public health through active transportation, and help New York residents reduce their household expenses by supporting e bikes generally and bike sharing programs specifically. Further, we know that e bike usage will continue to rise whether our communities are able to meet it with improved infrastructure. Getting

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: ahead

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: of this wave is essential to capitalizing on the benefits of reduced personal vehicle usage while also keeping New Yorkers safe on our roads. Thank you for your time.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you very much. I have just a couple of questions, one that I wish I had asked a couple of other people before. But now I've got you. So these bikes, when they're done being used by someone, where are they left?

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: J. So we have in our app where people reserve the bikes is a map, and it shows a GPS target location for all of the different parking zones. So we identify where the free parking spots are that are like ideal locations for community safety. So people park them in those GPS tagged zones, or they can potentially park them kind of even at their house or anything like Right.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay. That's another problem that I've been getting a lot of comments on, Okay? In Syracuse, for example, we have bikes and scooters. They're left all over the place. I don't know if they're designated on any GPS map or not, but they're all over neighborhoods. And they're just left. And sometimes not always, but sometimes they're left in the middle of a sidewalk or at a street corner, which makes it difficult for someone with a disability to get across in a wheelchair or a mom or a dad pushing kids in their little carriages. What's the answer to that? J.

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: Sure. That's certainly a challenge. And one of the features that concludes every bike share ride that we have is that people have to take a photo of the bike and its proper placement. And those are recorded and sent to the system and reviewed. If a member is consistently parking their bike improperly, then we would terminate their membership. And additionally, we have our fleet ops team who's out in the field all day long cycling batteries but also moving bikes that have been flagged as in a bad location. And one of the things we also do as a part of our larger community effort is try to educate and encourage community members to feel empowered to pick up and reposition bikes if they've fallen over, for instance, in an inopportune location.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. Just move it.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: J. L.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Yeah, just you know.

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: And then we can all work together and get it out of the way of the people who might have trouble navigating around it.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. L. Unfortunately, the people that are having trouble navigating are people with disabilities who couldn't move the bike out of the way. I'll tell you, the first time I saw this and I brought it up to programming counsel when we passed the law allowing them was what I saw in California and LA. And I got to a street corner, and there had to be 50 I'm not exaggerating bikes on the corner. I said, I can't walk through this. How could somebody with a disability walk through this? So this is an issue that I think it's great that people are using it. And I'm not against it. I'm just saying we've got to do something about how these things are handled. Because the rest of the community, you you say move it, but it shouldn't be on the rest of the community to do it. It should be on the entities that are renting them and the people who are using them, okay? I mean, that's where the buck should stop.

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: Of course.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Not everybody else. And you're a community type of organization. What about and I know I'm asking the wrong person. Maybe somebody else will come up. But these things that are being rented out and they're for profit, something more should be done here. That's not really a question. If you want to comment, that's fine.

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: I wanted to go back to an earlier point, talking like the California example. I do think there is a pretty significant variation in the experience of bike sharing by community size. Because bike share in Ithaca, our average total fleet out there in the streets over the expandable years is 200 a day, right? We couldn't even have 50 bikes in one spot. So the reality is between a large city system versus a smaller one. And I wanted to highlight that aspect of the geotag parking with my testimony because I do feel like I want to represent, as a smaller city, how we have a slightly different way that's been really effective for our community because it makes it more cost manageable

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: to Can I do this to larger cities and larger companies? I mean, that's what I'm looking for here. What suggestions are there to make this work? Right now, I don't think I can turn my head from problems that we have, Okay? These are things that we're going to have to solve. So before we start painting with a big, large brush, if anybody has suggestions, doesn't have to be today. You can write us a letter. Give us a call. We'll talk some more.

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: J. Yeah. And I think also in the small community element, I want to also share that the crashes that have happened for Ithaca Bikeshare have primarily been car drivers crashing into bikeshare users as opposed to bikeshare users initiating crashes. And that is a big piece of the infrastructure struggles that we have in our community.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Got it. It's tough to legislate for a state this big with so many different problems in different areas. But I thank you for your testimony. Any other questions? Thank you very much.

[Laura Vineyard (Executive Director, Center for Community Transportation; Ithaca Bike Share)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: And have a safe trip home. Okay. Moving right along here. Anne Savage, executive director of the New York Bicycling Coalition.

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: Must have slipped on the last step. That would have been really exciting. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me today. I am Anne Savage. I'm the executive director of the New York Bicycling Coalition. We are the only statewide not for profit focused primarily on cycling. And we represent more than 6,000 cyclists across the state. And our mission also includes pedestrian safety. I also co chair the New York State Safe Streets Coalition, which brings together more than 150 organizations and elected officials who advocate for bold action to keep our streets safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users. I want to start by saying that I personally ride a class one e bike. I rode it here this morning. I also ride a regular bike. I walk. I take the bus. And I drive a car regularly. So I see this issue from many angles. I want to make three points today. First, legal low speed e bikes are a success, and we should encourage them. Second, we must draw a clear bright line between legal e bikes and illegal devices. Third, we can support low speed e bikes and increase safety for everyone. First, legal low speed e bikes are a success story. Bike riding delivers real environmental affordability and public health benefits. Legal, low speed e bikes expand those benefits. They make biking accessible to older adults, people with disabilities, and those traveling long distances or with heavy packages. Most importantly, e bikes are affordable transportation, especially in communities, especially Upstate, where transit options are limited. E bikes can reduce the needs for a second car or any car at all sometimes, making life more affordable for New Yorkers. Second, we must draw a bright, clear line between legal e bikes and illegal devices. Legal e bikes are clearly defined in New York. They have pedals that operate. They are electric with a low wattage motor. And importantly, the motor cuts out when you hit 20 miles per hour, 25 for class three e bikes. This is not just a speed limit that can be ignored. On a legal e bike, the motor literally stops providing boost when you hit that 20 miles per hour. After that, you're just back to pedal power. Unfortunately, there has been a rapid spread of devices being marketed as e bikes that don't meet these standards. These devices are dangerous and are not legal to operate on the road in New York today. Third, we can support low speed e bikes and increase safety for everyone. There are challenges, especially in particular communities. As you consider a path forward for New York, I encourage you to do the following. First, carefully study the problem as you are doing today. When legal e bikes and dangerous, high speed devices get lumped together or when we try to extrapolate from a particular neighborhood's experience to the entire state, we risk responding to the wrong problem and making bad public policy. Second, address the problem at the source. Once a device is on the street, it is a very, very hard problem to solve. We need to start at the point of sale, both brick and mortar sales and online sales. Create a strong disclosure requirement so that people know that a device is not street legal before they buy it. Consider prohibitions of illegal devices and of aftermarket tools that turn legal e bikes into illegal devices. Third, increase compliance with laws already on the books. Expand the work that we at the New York Bicycling Coalition and others are already doing to educate law enforcement officers and community members. Commit New York to a series of widely distributed PSAs about these issues, especially the dangers for children 16. Think hard about what law enforcement might need to increase compliance without impacting affordability. Fourth, let's not forget that the biggest danger to vulnerable road users is motor vehicles. The most effective thing we can do for safety is to keep building sidewalks and bike lanes to keep everyone separated and safe. And New York needs to finally, finally join the rest of the country and implement defined safe passing of at least three feet. This is a simple, low cost ways to improve safety and set clear expectations for drivers. I urge the committee to take up assembly member's checks to find safe passing bill this session. I also want to encourage caution regarding registration and insurance. Experience shows that these requirements for bikes are costly to implement and difficult to enforce. There is also no insurance on the market right now to serve such a requirement. We should carefully watch what happens in New Jersey, where governor Murphy just signed a restrictive e bike law earlier this week. New York should learn from New Jersey's experience rather than repeat its mistakes by rushing into the same thing. Finally, I urge you to reconsider the ban of e bikes on roads where the posted speed limit is over 30 miles per hour. In most of our state, that effectively outlaws e bikes outside of villages, cities, and town centers. If a road is legal when I'm on my regular bike, it should be legal when I'm on my class one e bike. In closing, legal low speed e bikes should be encouraged. They support public health, climate goals, and affordable transportation. Our focus should be on keeping the legal devices off our streets, enforcing the laws we have on the books, building safe infrastructure, and passing smart street safety laws. I'm, of course, happy to take your questions.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Mr. Miller?

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: J. Thank you, chairman. Thank you for your testimony. Number two here on the second page. The last sentence. Consider prohibitions of illegal devices and aftermarket tools to turn legal e bikes into illegal devices. Pretty simple sentence. Are you asking for vehicle inspections?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: No, I'm asking for there are apps and hacks that you can purchase online that allow you to hack into an e bike and take off the governor. Should not be for sale in New York State.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: There's a few engineers sitting around here that can figure this out pretty easily. And I could go ahead and make myself a tool or whatever I needed to do to do that. But how would I bring a bike in from Colorado that doesn't have these situations, and that bike is illegal. So we say that you we're gonna pro prohibit the online whatever instruction, but it sounds to me like you're asking for a vehicle inspection for the bike annually, correct?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: I'm actually not asking for that. I can hear why you say that. But I'm asking for a limitation at the point of sale. Point of sale is the place where we have to be addressing this, both for the bikes and for the apps. You are always, no matter what you do regarding registration, insurance, limitations, prohibitions, education, going to face the question of what happens when somebody comes in, and they don't have to come from Colorado. They just have to cross the border from Vermont, which they're going, no matter what we do, we're going to face this movement of bikes across borders. That's what bikes do. They move. So it is a big problem. And it's something that almost every place that's tried to do a registration component has stumbled in part because of that, because bikes do move across borders. Hawaii does have a successful bike registration component, but it's very hard to move a bike to Hawaii from another state. So it does increase their chances for success.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: J. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Mr. Wright. J.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: You. I'm going to ask you this question. I probably should have asked it earlier. But you seem to be an expert in all bicycling, cycling areas. So my question to you is, if there is a bike path, for instance, through a park, are e bikes allowed to be on that bike path also?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: J. So I'm going to let my colleague Ed Brennan, who knows all things bike law when you have bike law questions, the next speaker is really the expert. It depends, to my understanding right now, on the local municipality's decision, right? E bikes in particular, there's wide, wide opportunities for local communities to make different rules. And it also varies based on class one, class two e bikes.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: The reason I ask it is I've been requested, I believe, by one of the, I'll call it, arms of your particular coalition here, to create a bike path through a state park. Because at this point in time, New York City bikers cannot reach Upstate New York. And I was just wondering if I have to take into consideration those electric bikes, too, and what they might create.

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: One of the challenges that I think we have created with the way the e bike law is structured, which I really value local control. I think local control is very important. People do know their own communities better. But I get a couple of questions a year from bike tour operators asking me the question, I want to run a bike tour from Place X in New York to Place Y in New York. If some of my folks are on a class one e bike and I remind you that a class one e bike is pedal assist. It does not have a throttle. The motor cuts out at 20 miles an hour. It is also speed limited at 20 miles per hour. If you walked out with me today and looked at my class one e bike, you would not be able to tell that it was not a regular bike. But I tell you, when I am at the bottom of the hill that's in front of the Capitol and I need to go to the top of the hill that's in front of the Capitol, I know I'm on my class one and not on my regular e bike. But the problem for a tour operator is that, formally, those bikes are against the law in certain communities or could be tomorrow because the local village, town, or city council could outlaw them and do it in an unusual way, right? They could say, oh, we have our farmer's market is here on Saturday morning, and we don't want so much congestion. So we're going to say no e bikes here on Saturday mornings. So a tour operator who's charging people for the benefit of leading a tour would have to call each and every one of our municipalities to confirm what the local law is. And that's not really a viable thing operators

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: when you think about how many municipalities there are in New York. So

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: And I do value local control. I do think it's important. But I do think it creates a problem for economic development using active transportation tourism, which is a big fact a big way of bringing money into our communities. Hudson Valley, in particular, has wonderful bike tourism opportunities.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. Yeah, yeah. I'm just going to finish up with, you know, I don't know New York City that well. But I was under the impression that New York City developed bike paths throughout the city for bicycles at one point in time. And I don't know if they were considering e bikes and the capabilities of the e bikes and whether those bike lanes are now capable of handling those or not. It's not a question that you need to answer. But thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Yes, go ahead, Ms. Simon.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Here we go. These things are new, but they're not very good in the turning on and off department. So thank you very much for your testimony. And I think it's very helpful because one of the issues, I think, is getting everybody's heads around this. You've raised a number of issues and you've made a number of suggestions. Do you have any suggestions about how we could look at this in a comprehensive way, the state legislature. Do we need a working group or a task force or some community engagement kind of process? Because this looks different in different places around the city. It looks very different in my and no, we do not have bike paths everywhere in New York City. And that is a big concern, is creating more bike lanes and more safe and protected bike lanes because people are increasingly using bicycles. But we also have, of course, in New York, everybody is in a rush to get everywhere. And so we have a lot of those issues with speed and cutting corners and whatnot. But we also don't have great enforcement mechanisms or just any ability to really have a window in those things. Do you have any suggestions about how we can kind of sort of comprehensively look at this and tackle this issue?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: I do think a statewide task force isn't a good idea. It's something I have been sort of trying to figure out what our role at the New York Bicycling Coalition could be. They've done something similar. Ride Illinois has done that. One of the outcomes that that came out of that task force was both recommendations for how we can make they can make improvements to Illinois state law and also some guidance from local municipalities about way they could make appropriate local laws. And they have a piece, if you want to find it. I can also send the link. I'm happy to provide it for Ride Illinois. We could do a comparable thing for New York. But that was a task force with multiple opportunities for public comment from communities of all different kinds. And Illinois and New York State have quite a lot in common in the sense of a very large city that's really a world class city with a lot of rural and suburban areas. So I think it's a good model. CALBIKE is also doing a similar project right now because I meet with my colleagues across the country monthly. Every single state is facing this. This is in no way new unique to New York or to New York City. Every time I meet with the executive directors of the bike coalitions, statewide bike coalitions, this is a topic. What are legislators considering? What would be good? Because the responsible cycling community wants safe cycling. And the people who are mostly getting hurt on these emotos are the riders. The riders are the ones who are getting hurt. Like that poor man who was injured by the UN was he killed? I think he was killed at the UN. The vehicle he was driving had capabilities up to 50 miles per hour. That was not an e bike. It was something else. And so our concern as the responsible cycling community is to try to make clear what you heard from CDTA. With a low speed legal e bike, like a class one e bike, they had a handful of issues over many years of operation. That's just an entirely different thing than something that can go up to 50 miles per hour. And we really need to ensure that we don't take away people's affordable transportation in our efforts to address the 40 mile per hour, 50 mile per hour issue because transportation is getting more and more expensive in New York State. I just saw a statistic that insurance had gone up 24% in just four years for car insurance. You all probably know this better than I do. But if your insurance is going up, we all know the price of cars is eye popping. So how are people going to get around in our communities that are not blessed as New York City is with transit that actually works? I lived in New York City for many years. I love New York City. I love leaving my apartment with just my keys. It was a great feeling. It's very, very hard to do that almost anywhere else in this country and certainly anywhere else in this state. And an e bike is providing an opportunity for people to have affordable transportation that actually gets them where they need to go. And cars are getting to be out of reach for a lot of people. So let's just be careful to protect our class one, class two e bikes as we consider what to do about the

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: I have

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: a quick follow-up. One of the things that I see happening is people picking sides. You're either for the bike lanes or you're against them and you're a terrible person. But if you are concerned about safety and I get emails from people, predominantly people who are older who are concerned about the speed of and of course, they can't hear them. That's the other issue, right? I drive a hybrid. I had started driving differently because I knew people couldn't hear me. And also children. So we get a lot of complaints from young parents with young kids in strollers, right, about this. So it seems to me that and you can tell correct me if you think I'm wrong, that some sort of process that we engage in with the public is a way of kind of bridging that gap and reducing the anger that people are starting to feel about each other, which is very troubling to me just because I represent people who are on very different sides, but also they don't have to be on different sides.

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: And I think this is why you're going to hear a lot of the advocacy community talking about infrastructure. Right? When there is clear infrastructure and keeping everyone separated and safe, it's helpful. I also want to mention that we had an issue not far from here where there was a motion to exclude e bikes from a park. But you know who came out to speak in favor of e bikes? Seniors and disability community because that's who's using the e bikes in the park is seniors and the disability community. So on the sidewalk, bikes every community makes a different law, right? Every community has control over bikes on their sidewalks. Walks. Most communities have very limited access to sidewalks for bikes, if any, especially in the downtown centers. And sidewalks are good for people walking. Bike lanes are great for people biking. When there is no bike lane, as there isn't in the vast majority of our state, cyclists are doing their best to get from where they are to where they're trying to get and stay alive through the process. And so if we can have safer infrastructure or to find safe passing and encourage drivers to actually give us a little room, right, then we can keep bikes off the sidewalk. Cyclists will make the choice. They don't want to interact with pedestrians. That's not the objective. The objective is to get where you're going and stay alive. Okay.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Just one other comment. Oh, you have? You have comments? Go right ahead.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Thank you for being here. So I've for my community and a lot in the area of Queens, not so much as far as the seniors or the disability population are using the school disability banks. Actually, it is more we have a lot of just younger people under the age of 16. I don't know what mechanisms you have in place to stop that, but under them, under the age of 16, they kind of gather and they all get bikes and they just go. And in that area, there is a tremendous amount of accidents with bicycles, not just e bikes. And I do feel that as we talk about affordability and we say, of course, we want to keep things more affordable. Cars are expensive, yes. But the actuality is my constituents are being run over by bikes and e bikes more than they are cars. So there has to be some type of mechanism that are holding these individuals accountable through insurance for them or through licensure for them. But if that is the case in the neighborhood, there should be some equity in it. And really, right now, all of the onus and punishment are just on car drivers and not the ones who are actually creating the crashes and accidents. Also, they do. It's not popular, but bicycles and e bikes are crashing into cars. But for the car person, they have to put it in their insurance and their insurance goes up. And there's nothing happening for the e bikes and the bicycles. So we I just want to make sure it's fair and it's equitable to all. But my question is, I hear from residents who feel they're brought into the conversation only after decisions are already made. From your perspective, what does early community engagement actually look like? And where in the current process is it breaking down?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: So it's an interesting question for me. My organization is a very small, not for profit entity that does some statewide distribution of bike safety education materials. We operate some direct bike safety education within two communities on Long Island and here in the capital region, which have very high crash rates. Colony, right outside of Albany, is one of the most dangerous places to be a pedestrian. And we do law enforcement training around the state with our budget that we have. This is all funded through the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee. You saw Patricia Burke here this morning, first speaker. And so that's the organization that funds us. So we are not responsible for citing and doing the community engagement on that. I do have some experience with that, as I am a sitting school board member in Albany and have been for over a decade. And community engagement is really, really hard, as I know all of you know. Getting folks to care about things before they're mad about them is one of the hardest things that you can do. And so I look to you expertise and how to engage with your community and your constituents because I really appreciate Member Simon's approach about we don't need to be mad at each other. We don't. We can look for ways that we can be cooperating with each other. And I'll just make one more point. In addition to my other hats that I wear, my son is 15. So I am well aware of how things are operating among the 15 year old crowd. He is not legal to ride an e bike. He wishes that I did not know this law because all of his friends have e bikes, right? Almost every single one of his let's call it a group of 20 that's out looking for a soccer field, right? They're just out looking for a soccer field. In Albany, are a refugee resettlement community. Have 80% of our kids are color, 20% white. Twothree of our kids in the city school district are living in poverty many, many, many refugees. Those families don't have cars. But what they do have is $400 to buy their kids what they think is an e bike. But it's not an e bike. It's a dangerous vehicle. It's a device that they shouldn't be on. And my kid is like, but mom, everybody else has one, right? We need to do the point of sale work that member Aikus was talking about, right? When my friends bought their kid an e bike, nobody gave them a card that said, this thing is not legal on the streets of New York State anywhere or this thing is not legal for anyone who's 16. They don't know.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. D. We have to keep it to the questions.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Oh, I think

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: that was the question. I'm sorry if it wasn't. J.

[Patricia Burke (Bike & Pedestrian Program Representative, NY Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, representing DMV/GTSC)]: Tried to

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: be responsive.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: But member Romero has a question.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Thanks. Anne, it's so good to see you. Good to see you. For those that don't know, Anne's also on the school board and does a lot of really intense work for Albany and is just a really wonderful advocate. So it's awesome to see you here. I just want to say I'm glad that you highlighted the affordability and accessibility concept of e bikes, which, especially for our district in Upstate, is needed. We heard from CDTA earlier. Great. But the reality is that the bus just doesn't even go to the entirety of the 109th Assembly District. So people need other ways to bridge that gap when we're in the middle of a literal affordability crisis. So I guess my question is more like what specific things do you think we can do to address the literal question of it's not an e bike, it was something else? Like, is the purpose of this hearing. And I love your color coded handout. Thanks. I think that's going to guide us as well. And you did give us a numeric subsection. But, you know, the example that you just gave us, that hypothetical, was they're still going to purchase them. Like, they're still going to go to those illegal stores. So is it giving more money to the county sheriff to crack down on those illegal sales? What

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: is your top three?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: I actually think this is a question I would love to hear if we were to do some sort of a task force with multiple state agencies because there's a consumer protection issue here. This isn't only a transportation issue. When I'm buying something and the word e bike appears on it and the word e bike appears in the New York state law, I think I'm buying the thing. But in fact, I'm buying a different thing, right? And I think there is a real truth in advertising component about this that someone in the New York State bureaucracy is probably responsible for paying attention to. I don't know who that person is or what that agency is, but those sorts of truth in advertising. And I do think limiting sales of things is something that should be actively considered. And I don't have a lot of experience in that area. I hope you can speak to people who know much more than I do about that. But why can I order online a device that is not for sale, not legal to ride in New York State? Why can't I?

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Can I

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: do a quick follow-up? Sure.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: So are you saying that people are mostly purchasing these illegal bikes online then? Or is it like J.

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: So People for Bikes actually has some data on this, and I can send it to you. But the amount of online purchases is increasing dramatically.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: J. Interesting. As opposed to purchasing regular bikes and then wonking them?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: J. Very few regular bikes become e bikes. There are some kits that you can purchase to take a regular bike and add a kit to it, or you can be an engineer and know how to do that yourself. But most people don't, so they buy the kit. And some of them, I don't know enough about them to know if they're all properly labeled and all of the things that you all have wisely required in the law. But mostly, people are buying e bikes that are meant to be e bikes, class one, class two, class three. You heard from people for bikes that we are a little wonky in our definitions. They don't quite align, it's a little tricky. But mostly, people are either buying e bikes or they're buying these things that aren't e bikes. They're mostly purchasing them, not making them. J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you very much.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: J. Thank you very much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Appreciate your testimony. And you're home, right?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: Yes, I'm home.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Have to Okay, God love you. Okay, Mr. Edward Brennan, president, Albany Bicycle Coalition.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Mind if I time it? I don't want to run over.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: There should be a thing right there that you can well, I guess it's over. Is that the only place you can see the time?

[Anne Savage (Executive Director, New York Bicycling Coalition)]: Yeah, unfortunately.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: EDDY Unfortunately, it's over there.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Oh, it's back there. Okay. Here, let's do that. Thank you for inviting me to speak to this critic about e bike, e scooter, law, safety. My name is Ed Brennan. I'm president of the Albany Bicycle Coalition, which has been working in the Capital Region for More and Safer Bicycling for over twenty years. I am also assistant director for bicycle safety for the New York Bicycling Coalition. I work with Anne. Our work includes conducting classes to law enforcement on active transportation law and safety under a grant from the GTSC. I have taught these classes myself to hundreds of officers from dozens of departments around the state, North Of New York City, North and west, etcetera. And the classes have been a real education for me as well. First, there's an incredible lack of knowledge about current e bike and e scooter laws among the public and even among law enforcement. Our classes fill up very quickly as departments are telling me they need help in understanding what these laws are and how they can contend with illegal and unsafe use. New York needs to do more in the way of public service announcements, PSAs, and other educational efforts starting in schools. Drivers also need to understand the different devices that are allowed on the roads and the rules by which everyone can share the road safely. As Anne was saying, point of sale information on age limitations and where these devices may be legally operated is essential. And this goes for online sales as well. And speaking of the conversion kits, I asked one conversion company if they would send me I had to convert a regular bike to an e bike if they can send me the New York State mandated manufacturer label that requires showing the class, the wattage, and the maximum speed. And I was told, they don't do that. But they would sell me the kit anyway. My wife's new e trike, which came from QVC she fell in love with it. She wanted it It also didn't have a label that was meeting the simple New York state requirements. I couldn't get them to understand or send me one that did, and we had to send it back. While I think more should be done in the way of keeping children off these devices, I do not favor licensing and registration requirements for class one and class two e bikes or e scooters. And I recognize this is a balancing act. But people should be able to travel where they need to in the state on low speed, lightweight devices without carrying and showing papers. I won't go in-depth into battery fire issues, but I

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: will

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: recommend that officers responding to crashes involving e bikes or e scooters at least make a visual inspection of the battery for physical damage. I understand DMV is revising the MV104A crash reports. I hope they're doing the MV104C as well for crashes that involve e devices. That's required under things that supposedly, I think, went into effect July 2025 requirements. But perhaps a checkbox could be added that could require them to look at the battery. Kind of lost my place there. Sorry. But damaged batteries should not be sent home with riders where they might plug them in, charge them, and start a fire. With respect to helmets, I believe e bike e scooter riders should need to wear helmets. Assembly member Burroughs' very concerning analyzing electric bike safety and the crashes involving electric bikes in New York City had collision fatalities per e bike 19 times greater than for standard bicycles. Very concerning. These are heavier than regular and scooters. They may not be as responsive. They don't stop as easily. They accelerate. They cruise faster. Many new users are surprised by these things and end up crashing. Helmet exceptions can be made for bikeshare that we've been talking about that operate at much lower speeds. Last things I'd like to address is where e bikes are allowed to be operated. I believe they should be allowed on those roads that are over 30 miles an hour, which currently prohibit e bikes. With the cost of living skyrocketing, these devices are a logical choice for many people with modest incomes for whom a car is another extreme or impossible burden. As people have said, public transportation may not go where they need to go. Or it requires so many transfers. It takes hours out of your day. These devices should be allowed on multi use pads, where these riders can ride safely away from traffic. Reasonable speeds and rules should be set locally for those multi use pads to encourage safe use by all. And lastly, Anne referred to this, but I went to that Clifton Park town hall meeting where it was announced they were going to keep them out of parks. The meeting was packed. And I was surprised. And I know the town board was surprised by all the senior citizens and disabled people that lined up to speak. They wanted to continue using their e bikes on the town roads, a lot of which were over 30. And they want to be limited to just pedal assist because they get tired, they're old, they're disabled, and they need that throttle for the hills. Thank you all for this opportunity.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you, sir. Any questions for the gentleman? Yes, Mr. Reikus.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Thank you, Ed. Anne set you up for this question. You heard, I'm sure, I've been asked to create a bicycle path through a state park.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: And

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: now I see what your opinion is, but do you know legally whether e bikes can go on those types of paths?

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: G. The law says you're allowed to use bicycles with electric assist. Don't say e bikes, first of all. Bicycles with electric assist is the term that's used in the law. So there's no term that says e bike. We're talking about bicycles with electric assist. And the law says they're allowed on roads, long as they're not over 30 miles an hour, on highways. They are not allowed on public land unless permitted by the locality. So if you want them I've seen when I go to these classes that I do for law enforcement, I look up some local laws. What are they doing in the areas? Like town of Victor, they're allowing class one e bikes on their trails that they have in that town. So you decide. But be aware, some of those seniors, some of those disabled people that have gone out and bought these bikes, and they love it. They love to tool around town on these things. And they love to use them in the parks and stuff. And they like the class, too, because they don't always want to have to pedal. G.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Okay. Other thing which I'm finding a little difficulty about and I maybe noticed it the first time in your write up here is that you want these e bikes on roads over 30 miles per hour. To me, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I would think you would want drivers to be slower. I hope, certainly, we pass I think it's Phil Steck's law about a three foot or a four foot passing lane for bikes and so on like that. I would think you'd want it on something 30 miles or less.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: G. Well, there's two things going on there. Number one, it's kind of curious who thought that you needed that restriction versus because by my regular bicycle I don't ride any bike myself. I ride a regular bicycle. I can go on any place, any road in the state except an interstate and an expressway, all right? So where did that 30 mile an hour restriction come from? I don't know the legislative history. The only thing I can guess is that it came from the law for the personal assisted mobility devices, which are basically the segues. When they came out, the legislature passed some laws. And they put in that 30 mile an hour. And when you're looking at e bikes, I said, well, let's bring this over to e bikes because we don't really know what to expect. But in fact, I don't understand the logic of why you would allow a regular bicycle versus an e bike, except I will say this to your point. A lot of these people, especially the people that are economically disadvantaged, are out there buying these e bikes, they're not regular bicyclists. And they're doing this out of economic necessity. They don't know enough of them don't know the rules of the road. And they find themselves in places and situations that they are not equipped to handle with knowledge or maybe the equipment they have. They don't have lights at night. They're working at a KFC job getting out of 3AM. They're dark. They're not wearing reflective clothing. Those are the people that are getting hit on all kinds of roads. But a lot of the places they need to get to to work at Home Depot is in places like that. They're on roads that are 40 miles an hour. Why are we making them scaffolds just because they need to get to work? And this is the only way they can afford to get there. Otherwise, they've to spend six hours on buses with transfers if the bus even goes there at all.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: GREGORY Well, I'm just going to end with I think that a number of these people can find ways to get to work on roads less than 30 miles an hour, at least in my neck of the woods. Because I have folks you're right. I have folks on roads that are two lanes each way climbing over mountains. And even the bicyclists don't have control of their bicycles. That's it. Well

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: J. And some localities have permitted like Rochester, they allowed up to on roads up to 35. So maybe it's something that communities need to look at where these folks need to get to work. I was at a Home Depot the other day, and they were talking about somebody. Did so and so ride his bike in today? It was like 20 degrees. And they said, yeah, he did. That's how he gets to work.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: On roads over 30 miles an hour, too. But it was clarified for me a little bit more when it was explained that you can't legally ride from here to Altamont on an e bike, but you could ride there on your regular bike. Can you just parse that out more? Like, is that what you're trying to get at, that you want to allow for the e bikes to be on roads over because it's an accessibility issue. Is that what I'm trying you know?

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: J. Yeah. Mean, it's a means of transportation. If I can use my means of transportation because it doesn't have it's metabolically powered by what I had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner versus the electrical power, Both are low speed. In fact, e bikes tend to a class one, class two e bike, 20 miles an hour. They're limited to 20 miles an hour. That's also the speed limit for them. I can go faster on my regular bike. Not that I don't do that that often, especially as I'm getting older. But I don't see the logic in barring the e bikes and compared to regular bicycles from every road that a bicycle is allowed on. And a lot of them look like regular bicycles, so it's confusing to other people, too.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: And then there was a question asked earlier of a panelist, a person that was testifying, about can anyone distinguish the difference between class one, class two, and class three? Would you be a you know, I consider you also to be somewhat of an expert. Can the average person tell the difference between class one, class two, and class three? And do you think that that's something that the legislature should

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: J. Yeah, Article 34, sections on e bikes require a label. The label has to have the class one, two, or three. It has to have the maximum speed. And it has to have the wattage. The wattage can't exceed seven fifty watts. It's got to be class one, two, or three. And if it's class one or two, which is the only thing that's supposed to be up here, it can't go over 20 miles an hour.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: But from looking at it is what I'm saying.

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: From looking at it. From a law enforcement perspective.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: It's more difficult. I mean, if you're observing it, if you're observing the speed that it's going at, certainly if somebody's going up a hill that's at 30 miles an hour and you're behind it in a vehicle, you can tell that it's not an e bike. It's not a legal e bike. Another thing, just the way you look at it, when you keep looking at the definition of e bike, you really should be looking first at the definition of the motor vehicle. And everything that has a motor that is not human or muscularly powered that is out on the roads, that's a motor vehicle. The only reason e bikes, e scooters, Segways, ATVs aren't considered motor vehicles is because the definition of motor vehicle accepts them. They have exceptions. And then if those exceptions if it doesn't meet the definition of one of those exceptions, like bicycle or electric assist, what is it? This is the conversation I have with the officers when I talk to them. What is it if I'm riding something that's called an e bike, it's 800 watts? What is it? It's a motor vehicle, Okay? And it's all the laws that are required for motor vehicles are fit to those things. If you're riding on the sidewalk, not only are riding an e bike in the sidewalk, you're not. You're riding a motor Including vehicle on the

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: registration and licensing?

[Frank Anacaro (CEO, Capital District Transportation Authority)]: J. L.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: G. Everything. Every e bike, no matter which class.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: G. It's not in the no, you're going to misunderstand. If it doesn't fit in the definition of the exception to motor vehicle, it's a motor vehicle.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: G. Right.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Motor vehicles need to be registered. And if there's no way you can register them, then you're riding something that's unregistered on a road in New York. But you're still liable to all those laws. And if you happen have a driver's license and I ride my 800 watt thing by a school bus, that stopped. Can hit my license for that. I can get points and all those things, I say.

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: J. D. Okay. Got it?

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I got it. I think a lot of these things have to do with trying to make people safe. I know what you're trying to do with making people safe who are riding class one and class two vehicles or e bikes or whatever we want to call them. The problems that we have that I see are not only how we regulate these vehicles, whatever they're called, but the roads and getting them safe. And I feel like I'm at a loss going into budget season, trying to make sure bridges don't fall down and tracks are safe for our railroads and our airways are taken care of, and then our roadways, which every time we have tried to put into effect that every time we make a repair on a highway, safe streets are going to be taken into consideration, which also includes e bikes, motorcycles, everything. It's costly. So to just say we're going to do these things, I hope that eventually we do. But that eventually is somewhere down the road.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: Oh, sure.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay? And I think people have to understand that as well. And in the meantime, this committee is doing its best to try to keep people safe, Okay? So that's where we're coming from. I thank you for your testimony. Are there anything else? Anything else? Thank very much, sir. Elizabeth Adams, Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs Transportation Alternatives. It's all yours.

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Elizabeth Adams with Transportation Alternatives. E bikes are bikes that make it possible for more people to get around quickly and cheaply. Parents taking their kids to school on a cargo bike, people recovering from the surgery who could use an assist, older adults who are wanting to give up their car and have another way to run their errands, and delivery workers. They all depend on

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: e

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: bikes. We all just want to get around our city with options that work for us. And New Yorkers are increasingly demanding e bikes as their preferred method. Has been a dramatic ridership increase, and a recent MIT report actually showed that e bikes are now the most popular bike type in New York City bike lanes. They've become a part of our everyday lives, and they're easing traffic congestion in one of the most congested cities in the entire world and lowering climate emissions. And so given this, I want to directly address the safety questions and discuss how we make sure everyone is safe on our roads. New York state has a large role to play to ensure safe riding, safe devices, and safe streets. To begin, New York should increase funding for complete streets infrastructure for safe street design with protected space for bikes and pedestrians. And the state should also enact an e bike rebate program so that more people are able to ride safe, legal, and affordable e bikes. It is time to make sure every e bike on our streets is safe for both riders and pedestrians. And that starts with fixing an exemption that currently allows class three e bikes that can go up to 28 miles per hour. 20 is plenty, as we like to say. It is the gold standard for safe speed limits for everything traveling on our urban streets. We align with People for Bikes and calling for the state to update its classification system so that we have more safe class one and two e bikes in New York state and city. We also urge municipalities to adopt legislation to phase out the fastest class three e bikes that shouldn't be on the road and address it at point of sale, ensuring everyone is riding at a safe speed and enforcement happens at the store level, not on the street with law enforcement and potential harmful interactions. The time is also overdue to hold the delivery app accountability delivery app companies accountable for safety on our roads, full stop. Our streets are workplaces for almost 80,000 New Yorkers, and companies are profiting off of unsafe practices and punishing workers who are trying to just do their jobs safely. There are effectively no regulations preventing delivery apps from forcing workers into unsafe practices, like speeding, and forcing them to have to make the impossible decision between keeping their job or choosing safety. Addressing this issue at the company level allows us to change behavior at a large scale all at once, and that has ripple effects out to other e bike behavior on our streets as well. App companies should be required to remove time based incentives that encourage speeding and punitive deactivations against workers for following safe protocol, ensure workers have safe legal devices, and be forced to set safe routes. There are a variety of innovative and data backed approaches to e bike safety, but I want to be clear today that license and registration for e bikes does not produce safety. The chair has raised questions about licensing, and so I want to reinforce what has been said. There is zero research that shows that licensing e bikes makes anyone safer. In fact, where it has been passed, from Los Angeles to Houston to Toronto, it has been repealed because it just does not work. Toronto actually conducted a study on their bike licensing and registration protocol and why they decide to repeal that I encourage the committee to look at and would be happy to send along after this. It is a bureaucratic nightmare. It costs taxpayer dollars for something that is shown to be ineffective when it comes to safety. And it doesn't change driver behavior. It does not lead to safety, but it does create a serious chilling effect on bike ridership, and it wastes police time. Bike licensing is also reactive and applies only after the fact. If we want to actually prevent crashes, like we've been talking about today, we need safer infrastructure, like wider bike lanes and more pedestrian space. We know it works when it comes to safety delivery app accountability, safe infrastructure, and safer, slower speeds for everyone on our road. It has been shown over and over again. I urge the legislation to follow the data. New York City is also one of the biggest biking cities in the country, and licensing puts that at serious risk. We shouldn't compromise all of our efforts to make our streets and our city more accessible for people to get around in more ways by following something that is unproven and untested. We should not be reactive. We should be proactive. We have the tools to address e bike safety correctly. Let's follow the measures that work. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you very much. I just want to clarify something. You're talking about licensing and registrations and the call for doing that. But what about if class one and two were not included? Those are bikes with an assist, only go up to 20 miles an hour. From what I'm hearing today, it's been reiterated. And so those, taking them out of the equation. But the other bikes that go faster than that, having them register so that we can at least regulate and enforce the traffic laws that are out there right now? Just wonder, what's the difference there?

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Do you

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: see a difference, or don't you see a difference?

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: J. Yeah. So what we actually recommend and have been looking at at the city level is actually phasing those out altogether to be on our city streets the class three, the faster e bikes. J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Yeah. What do you say? I didn't hear that.

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: J. We want to end the sale of class three e bikes in New York City on our streets because they don't belong in our city. What we want are class I and II safe speeds. And the reason I mentioned the point of sale piece is because it's more effective in changing practice and behavior. You heard earlier this morning that police officers often can't tell between an e bike and a bike, let alone class one, two, or three. And so if we are making sure what's on our streets are legal, are safe, are what they should be, then we are not addressing it at the individual, like one on one, a police officer stopping someone and trying to figure out what's real or not real. You're actually just addressing it before you get there and from a structural level.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Okay. I hear you. Questions? Thank you very much for your testimony.

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Oh, you have a question? Well, you've got to raise your

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: hand.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I mean, Okay. Thank you. Go right ahead, Member Hooks.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Thank you for your testimony today. I just want to say people are dying from being hit by these e bikes. Licensing and registration, it doesn't produce safety maybe not but it does produce accountability. And so the individuals that are riding these class III bikes or reckless class II bikes need to be accountable for not following laws and rules. It's important for a community like mine who it's higher cases of accidents with these e bikes than cars to be heard as well, all right? And so there should be some form of accountability. And licensing and registration is a form of accountability. I hear micro mobility is often framed as an equity solution, yet the communities most affected by placements seniors, people with disabilities, and dense residential districts I'm saying in New York City often feel unheard. Who should be accountable when those voices are missing from the process? This is my first question. Second is, should equity require not just access to micro mobility but real power for communities to shape how it shows up in their neighborhoods?

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: To the first and second question, people should be involved in the process and engagement. When it comes to placement, your first question of micro mobility, we have been supportive of micro mobility pilots and programs that have started in The Bronx and Eastern Queens that really came about as a result of community members saying they live in transit deserts and they were looking for more options. The Scooter Share program, we've actually heard really positive, supportive results out of the Scooter Share pilot in The Bronx. And that was why they then also moved into the Eastern Queens portion, because local elected officials there were saying their constituents were looking for more options to get around. That, of course, comes with the importance of community engagement and discussion. But I think overall, what we're seeing is people have people have too few trans options and are saying, look, it has taken me an hour, an hour and a half to get to work. That simply cannot be what I'm expected to do if I were to take a different mode and it were half that time. In Outer Boroughs, bus times are way too slow. They don't come frequently enough. And one thing we have seen following the data of bike share is actually that e bikes have a longer use time and are twice as used for commutes, and or, if not more, for inter borough trips. So people are really using micro mobility, e bikes and scooters, as a commute option for their longer rides. They're saying, rather than doing a bus, a subway, an Uber, because I have to do these three different connections because I don't have the easiest option available, people are saying, I actually want to take an e bike and have that be my preferred method. So for us, it's incredibly important that people have more options, not less, of how to get around the city, that we are listening to people, that we are thinking about what that looks like in each neighborhood, where the exact transit gaps are, whether that be bus, subway. If you have a fifteen minute walk to a subway, that's a real challenge. And micro mobility plays a key role in closing that fifteen minute gap.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: I agree that there should be more alternatives. But what about the areas within the electives and neighborhoods that aren't saying that?

[Elizabeth Adams (Deputy Executive Director, Public Affairs, Transportation Alternatives)]: J. I mean, I think we're hearing that kind of all over the place and people looking for more options. I think it's important that people have options that they can choose from. And then we kind of design what different modes are available for people. Also, there is very much a if we build it, they will come kind of mentality. The more options for transit that we create and that we build and that we provide, people then are in a better position to kind of assess and decide what's best for them.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Okay. I just can you please or someone just point me to the right person so that my community can finally have the conversation? Because we haven't had it yet. Great. Yes. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: I see no further questions. So I want to thank you very much for your testimony. And be safe out there.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay. Roseman Giannudz, PhD, CDRS, member families for Safe Streets.

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: Am I on?

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: You're on.

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: All right. Well, let's see, make sure my computer's on. It's an honor and a pleasure to be here. And I do come from your neighborhood, member at Hooks. I'm on community board, too. And we do hear a lot from our community. So anyway, that's such an important point. But my name is Doctor. Rosamund Giannouzzos. I'm a resident of Sunnyside, Queens. And I'm speaking to you today in several capacities. As Doctor. Giannouzzos and with laser, I'm in my official robe. I'm a psychologist who specializes in the rehabilitation of survivors of brain injury who are often victims of traffic violence. In my practice for thirty five years, I treat people in their homes, usually spending several hours each week. I have a couple of people who I've seen for over twenty years. And I see lives that have been shattered and families who, I have to say, dogged support qualifies them for sainthood. You just can't help but be fueled by this experience. And I do come as a passionate advocate for street safety. Am a I longtime member and supporter of transportation alternatives. I am not employed by them, never have been. It's quite the opposite. And in fact, I volunteer regularly with families for safe streets and have met some of you in that capacity here. FSS is an organization of people and families directly impacted by traffic violence, many who are in that KSI, killed or seriously injured category. I advocate not only for the many who have been struck by four wheeled motor vehicles, but also for those who have been struck by two wheeled ones. They, too, are victims of traffic violence. Finally, I come as a person who has achieved mobility in her senior years. And I have to say, even though the numbers are thinning out, I think I'm the oldest person here. This is what happens when you get to a certain age. You think, oh my gosh, everybody's younger than me. And that's true right here, I think. And anyway, I achieved mobility in New York City through biking and particularly e biking. During COVID, I took my car off the road because there's no point in doing home visits there. You couldn't safely during that year. And I navigated the city on my class two e bike, including as an example riding to an outpatient surgical visit and coming home in throttle only mode. That throttle doesn't mean fast. It just means you don't have to pedal because my surgeon didn't want me to put pressure on my leg. Anyway, most drivers my age dread the day that they have to give up their car keys. My dread is that, gay, I can no longer safely ride my bike. New York state can do more. And we've heard a lot of people talking about ways to protect and support bike riders like me. And we do have to acknowledge and address those problems that exist with e bikes but must not conflate all motorized bikes. So we just it's almost a natural segue. We just heard about the question from Chairman Magnarelli about class one and two e bikes. And they are very different. They max out. Mine maxes out at 18 miles an hour. Definitely 20 is plenty. The severe injuries caused by these bikes are so rare that they become newsworthy. The benefits for safety and mobility to individuals and society do not hit the news, although in New York City we can, however, see we gather that there have been at least 50 lives were saved this last year with the introduction of congestion pricing. And of course, interventions, Vision Zero interventions, aren't working because we have a rapid rise of bikers, but not so rapid rise in injuries and deaths, KSI. Numbers don't lie. The bottom line, in my view, is do not add restrictions like license and registration to the use of class one and class two e bikes. Don't make it harder for e bike users like me to have mobility in the communities we love. And briefly, if I can

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Just so you know, Ms. Giannouzes, your time is up. So if you can

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: Okay. Well, all right. I mean, was just going to make some suggestions. But many of them have been made focusing on the delivery apps, making it easy to differentiate Class I and II e bikes. And by the way, and phasing out the the class three ones, that makes a lot of sense. But the one thing that bothers me a lot is this term mopeds. I think we should call them no peds. And then it would be very, very easy for anyone at a distance to see that they are not a bike. They are no peds. If it doesn't have pedals, it has to have a license plate and a license driver. And so there you go.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay.

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Thank you very much. Does either of my colleagues have any questions? Ms. Hooks?

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Thank you for your testimony today. Just point of clarification. I have a small portion of Community Board one, Community Board three, Community Board four, and community small portion of Community Board six. I represent East Elmhurst, North Carolina, LeFrac City, and Forest Hills, a little bit of Forest Hills. I'm very familiar. But I am going to say that I am a super supporter of safer streets, but safer streets for

[Tyler Madele (Program Director, Shared Mobility Inc.)]: all. Yeah.

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay, anything else? Okay. Thank you so much. Please get home safely

[Dr. Rosamund Giannouzzos, PhD, CDRS (Families for Safe Streets)]: I'm on the train.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: That should work. Okay. Next we have Alicia Dean Steindler from the League of Conservation Voters. Ah, there you are. I appreciate that. Thank you. Okay, thank you so much for being with us today. Please proceed.

[Alicia Dean Steindler (Legislative Advocate, NY League of Conservation Voters)]: Great. Good afternoon, Chair Magnarelli and Assembly Transportation Committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Alicia Dean Steindler, and I'm the legislative advocate for the New York League of Conservation Voters, NYLCV, a statewide environmental advocacy organization that strongly supports the transition to a clean energy economy and New York's leadership in fighting the climate crisis. As you know, New York has statutory obligations under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, CLCPA, to cut economy wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85% by 2050. Transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in New York. And NYLCV supports taking steps to reduce unnecessary driving and increase use of mass transit and other transportation alternatives, like walking and biking, including e bicycles and e scooters. Micromobility devices, which include e bikes, e scooters, and e mopeds, are a sustainable mode of transportation because they cut down on private car trips, decrease fossil fuel use, and make roads less congested, all of which improves public health, especially for low income and communities of color. NYLCV stands firm in that all New Yorkers should have access to clean, sustainable, and safe modes of transportation to improve our state's air quality and to combat climate change. Micromobility is also an affordable and accessible mode for New Yorkers, especially for low income workers and residents living in transit deserts. As micro mobility devices have increased in usage and use of unregulated batteries have proven dangerous, even causing battery fires, NYLCV stresses the importance of e bike safety, outreach, education, and increasing charging stations throughout the cities, especially in areas where delivery workers congregate. Last year, we supported Assembly Member Glick and Senator Kavanaugh's bill to improve e bike and e scooter battery recycling, which should help curb the use of dangerous, unregulated batteries. In order to ensure e bikes and e scooters are being used safely, it is vital that we promote safe bike infrastructure, including protected bike and e bike lanes, as well as double wide bike lanes. These lanes would reduce cycling on sidewalks and protect pedestrians. Additionally, we should continue rolling out more e bike loading zones for delivery, daylighting intersections, and offering more public e bike charging stations. We support the ability for New Yorkers to safely use e bikes, e scooters, and other devices for transportation. They are better for our climate goals, better for our communities, and better for our lungs. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it. I just want to be clear on something. And I think you got to it at the end of the testimony. I don't think anybody I've heard, anyway, at this table is against e bikes or additional mobility as far as our population is concerned and how it affects the environment, those aren't issues that we are really looking at today. The issues that we're looking at today, and I want to keep emphasizing this, is safety, okay? And we have problems with that. Yes, there are some easily verbalized answers. Make the streets safer. Construct larger bike lanes. May have more bike lanes. All of these things are true. The question is, where is the wherewithal to do it? Okay? And the other part and I think member Hooks has been reiterating this, and I don't want to speak for you but there is an accountability thing here as well. Just because you're riding a bike, just a bike, doesn't mean you don't have accountability to someone that you hit. And so how do we enforce these types of things? So we're looking at this today on that level. I just want to be really clear, because we don't disagree with you on everything else. Again, I'm speaking for myself, but I haven't heard anything to the contrary here either. But having said all of that, anybody else want to say anything? Ms. Shimsky wants to ask a question.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay. Thank you so much for being here today. And I think it's important as we are talking about the safety aspects, the public health aspects also need to be considered. And when you're talking about pollution in the atmosphere and getting people out on bikes even if they're assisted is going to get them more exercise. Do you have any research on the public health benefits to e bikes, is that another witness? It's Okay.

[Alicia Dean Steindler (Legislative Advocate, NY League of Conservation Voters)]: I think it may be another witness. Okay.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay. That's cool. I just wanted to see if you wanted to weigh into two of the debates that have kind of gone on today. One is the differentiating between class one and the others, or class one and two and the others. Is the leak taking any position on that?

[Alicia Dean Steindler (Legislative Advocate, NY League of Conservation Voters)]: We do not have a position.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay. Okay. In terms of the issue with the batteries, and I'm glad that you spoke about Assemblywoman Glickspill, do you have any thoughts on limiting bike sales to devices with UL label approved batteries?

[Alicia Dean Steindler (Legislative Advocate, NY League of Conservation Voters)]: We don't have a formal position, but we are certainly not in favor of seeing the unregulated batteries. They are part of the problem that they're not manufactured well. There are welding issues with them. They're unsafe. And we would like to see them not be so readily available.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay, great. Thank you so much. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you very much. Next we have I hope I pronounced that right. If I didn't, please correct me, Okay? Executive director oh, I'm sorry. Anub? Abu Bakar? KI. Abu what?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: ABU Bakar.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: ABU KAKAR. Okay. Thank you. L. I apologize. You should see what they've done to my name over the years, Okay? J.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: It's Okay.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: You can

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: just call Abu. He's going to be fine.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. It's very good to have you here. And you're the well, is executive director. And is delivery worker leader and organizer, Workers Justice Project.

[Unidentified (brief interjections)]: J. Yes.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. It's all yours.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: J. Okay. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. And member of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Abubakaki. I am a NAP based delivery worker, and I have worked for and since 2019, primarily in Norway, Manhattan. I am also a proud member and leader of delivery staff in Ugos, where I helped lead a WhatsApp group of more than three fifty delivery worker. I joined this movement because, like many other, experienced engine deactivation and felt compelled to fight back, not just for myself, for but for all delivery worker. When I started delivering in 2019, I used a regular bicycle. But by 2021, that become impossible. Delivery distance grew longer, time limit become tighter, and the app began punishing worker who could not deliver fast enough by reducing our access to work or deactivating us until early. To survive, I had to switch to an e bike. The three is simple. The app pushed us to use e bike. They incentivize speed, volume, and efficiency because it increase their profit. E bike allow us to complete more delivery in less time, work longer hours without exhaustion, and add enough to pay rent and support our family. For delivery worker, e bike are not luxury. They have a lifeline. Today, more than 80,000 hub based delivery worker rely on e bike to walk and to travel across the city, especially in the neighborhood with limited public transportation. Yet our street and policies have not cashed up to this reality. Let me be clear, e bike are not the problem. The real problem are suite that are not designed for e bike. A lack of protected bike lane, no charging or parking infrastructure, and not company that push a worker to rush delivery, we've had to figure out for safety. We often do not control our route where we wait for how much time we have given. If we don't meet a realistic delivery time, we reach the activation without notice caused, then we write to upheld. At the same time, worker face criminal services if we evaluate traffic law. We are trapped between up demand and enforcement while the company that control the system take no responsibility. Worker invests thousand of dollars just to do this job. A knee bike can cost over 2,000, and manual operating cost can exceed 10,000, including battery, charging, parking, GPS protection, maintenance, and safety gear like raincoat, gloves, and delivery bags. Every dollar come out of pocket of your company. In 2023, my EBAG battery was stolen twice while I was making delivery. Each time, I had to replace the battery the same day so I could finish my scheduled shift and continue working. If I had end my shift due to a thief, I would have been penalized by the company. As a result, I spent nearly 6,000 each time. My battery was stolen. This end of business, but the risk cost and dangers push enter into worker like me. E bike are the future of transportation in New York. To make the future safe and sensible, we must expand protect bike lane, build accessible charging station, and secure e bike parking. Invest in e bike trade program to help work with transition to safer U. Certified e bike, create delivery zone to share suite safely, hold up company accountable for the condition they create and how they treat worker, create delivery staff, safe space for charging, rest, resources, and support for those who deliver food, grocery, and medicine across the city. E bike are not are the one of safest, most affordable, and accessible way for me to get around and do my job. The problem isn't bike isn't ebike or people like me, is that our suite weren't built for us without protected lane and safe infrastructure. I am forced to shade Najo Street with car, putting my life at risk every day. As delivery worker, we care deeply about street safety because you are the one most likely to be injured or killed while avoiding e bike. This danger come not only from the lack of infrastructure, but also from the app company that pressure us to deliver faster even when it may take unnecessary risk. Many of us take those risks because we fail being fired or losing the only job we have to support our family. Our company have our responsibility for the condition they create. They should be investing in city infrastructure, including protective bike lane, charging station, and secure e bike parking. They should also be held accountable when they pressure worker like me to wash delivery in unsafe way. We are essential to the city. We are the frontline during snowstorm, flood, and emergencies. Whenever New Yorker are told to stay home and stay safe, it is our labor that keep the city moving during those moment. All we are asking is for the state and the company we work for to invest in us, to ensure we can do our work safely, to work our company accountable, and to move New York into a new era where e bike I fully welcome as an affordable and accessible option for working like me. Thank you for listening and for considering the voice of a worker like me who keep the city moving. Any questions are welcome.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Well, thank you very much, sir. I appreciate the testimony. Any questions? Yes, sir.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Go ahead. Yeah, real quick. What class bike do you ride? Do you know?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: The one that use a non moving class, but I know the speed limit is less than 25 miles per hour. That's the one I'm using.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Okay. But that that might include a a class three too also.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Okay.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: So okay. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Yes, go ahead. Member Hooks.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: I just wanted to just clarify something. I wanted to ask a question. Thank you for your testimony today.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Okay.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: In your written statement in the statement, it said, at the same time, workers face criminal summons if we violate traffic laws. Can you just tell me what types of summons those are that you got that you receive or they receive?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Yeah, like a criminal summons is when you don't stop, like, a traffic light, like riding the bike on the sidewalk or going the wrong way.

[Assemblymember Larinda C. Hooks]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Yes, go ahead. Member Shimsky.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: One thank you so much for being here with us One very quick question. Your bike, does it have pedals?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Yes.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: Okay. Okay, great. Thank you. Okay, no problem.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Sir, thank you very much. Whoops, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. These people are well, there you go. Member Simon.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Thank you. So thank you for your testimony. Thank you for coming. I think that a lot of the issues that you raised are issues that are very important to sorting through this. I don't know if you were here earlier, but I do have a bill that would prohibit an app from promising anything less than a half an hour,

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Because

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: that puts pressure. And also, know that the restaurants don't actually get the request in a timely fashion. So I'd be curious what your view is on that, if that would be helpful, number one, and whether you have any other suggestions with regard to app regulation or how they work.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Yeah. Like I say, I work with worker usage project. And we have, like, a connection with many members. It's like investing in, like, training more daily with like me. Like, if you have, like, some fund, you can help us to do, like, some training and have, like, charging station also. Because many of us, they don't allow us to charge our battery in some building. And they say we can't charge the battery inside the building, and we don't have where we have to charge it. Those kind of situation also, if you have like a solution, it can be helpful for health.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Okay. So I'm formulating a question. At least in New York City, right?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Yes.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: The city Department of Transportation would put a lot of these suggestions into effort, right? So there are certain state laws, but a lot of what gets implemented and how it gets implemented is through the city.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Have

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: you made these suggestions to New York City Department of Transportation or to the city council?

[Miller Nuttall (Policy Director, Lyft Urban Solutions/Citi Bike)]: Yes.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: All of them?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Yeah, all of them, yeah.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Okay. When was that done? Is that recently? Or have you been doing this now for quite some time?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Many times. But, yeah.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Okay.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Also, with the company, also, like, we appreciate that we got it. Always we make a complaint with the company. But, you know, we really don't care because our voice doesn't count. And also, we need, like, safety in our suite. Is it the company that puts us to pressure industry? Also to have, like, humanity. Because of the pressure, sometimes we have to rush in some customer location. Like, I have I have to do more delivery. And I have, like, some customer that had whole people, and we need to go, like, very slowly with them. But because of the pressure of the company, we don't also have humanity for those customer. Like, we don't give, like, better services.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Yeah. I appreciate that. Thank you. I have another question that goes to some things that people have talked about before, including things like registering your e bike, getting a little license plate. Because one concern that people have where they see somebody who is going in the wrong direction and it is an e bike that there's they can't report it because they don't have a number. But it also could provide some support if, in fact, you have not violated the law and somebody makes a complaint. So I'm curious what your concerns are, if any, with regard to licensing certain e bikes? So there's a little license plate on the back, kind of thing.

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Like, licensing the e bike, one rule is like the safety. It's like if you are able to do, like, more training to deliver data. And we we already started doing this training, but it's not frequently, but we need to do, like, frequently. But using, like, driver license and even like a plate, because, you know, some people, they still have some situation to like to put something on the plate when they're going wrong. And if you have, like, a camera that have to catch this one, the camera won't be able to capture. So that one, this is, the the the problem. The problem is, like, to do more training, like, to be delivered over. Like, using, a a plate, I'm not sure it's to reduce it. But because they will find something to go against that.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: Okay. I understand what you're saying. It's a challenge. Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate your testimony. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Giglio. One more.

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: There we go, one more.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: Not done. Sorry. So I'm just curious because it seems to be, even when I lived in the city, that there were a lot of bicycles, just regular bicycles for messenger delivery and for different types of deliveries. When you sign up to be a delivery person in New York City on an e bike, do they have you sign a disclosure that you're familiar with the laws? Is there any training of what the laws are in New York City so that you don't get any criminal tickets? Or do train you as to what the laws of New York State are when operating an e bike?

[Aboubacar “Abu” Ki (Delivery worker leader, Workers Justice Project)]: Yes.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: They do. Okay. So you sign a form. So Okay, good. That's all I wanted to know. Thank you so much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Member Matt Tennis.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: Hi. Thank you for your testimony. There's a lot of confusion among policymakers and law enforcement about the difference between e bikes, mopeds, motorcycles. From your perspective, how has the lack of clarity affected delivery workers on the street? And what should the state do to ensure these categories are clearly understood and consistently enforced?

[Ligia Guallpa (Executive Director, Workers Justice Project)]: Can answer that?

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: Yes, please.

[Ligia Guallpa (Executive Director, Workers Justice Project)]: Because it's important to highlight by the way, my name is I'm the executive director of the Workers Justice Project. I would love to give my testimony at some point as well. I just wanna clarify the difference, especially there there was a question asked about whether he uses a class two or or three. A class three is considered a bike that goes over 25 miles per hour. His bike goes at 20 miles per It's pedal assist. So it's right between the gray area class two and class three. It's not an it's not a a classy. So I just wanna clarify something that has been highlighted today, a difference. Anything that's considered a MOPIT or is motorized, I think it has been highlighted today, it does require the registration. It requires to have a license and insurance. So a lot of the e bike, the MOPITs that are in our streets, most of them would require workers or anybody who's driving them to have a driver's license, registration, and insurance. The problem has been, and I think has been highlighted again and again, is that most of the people who are buying this equipment are consumers that are being misled, especially by retail stores. When they sell these devices, they automatically tell them that they're not required license or registration. And often, these devices are in legal industry operating. So we completely support the idea of regulating other retail store to make sure that the retail stores are the ones who are informing consumers in this case, not only deliveristas which devices do require license, registration, and insurance versus an e bike who writes especially in New York City right now, most of these e bikes, there was a new regulation that the e bikes have to go at 50 miles per hour. There is new regulation that will mandate most of the manufacturers, including those legislation that we're supporting, that will reduce the speed of the e bikes as well. And I just wanna high highlight back that most we understand that most of the mopeds and the motorized are part of the problem, and we do need to regulate. But there is registration, licensing, and insurance required for mopeds and motorcycles who are part of the problem in our streets.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Well, thank you.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: I'm sorry. If I can have a follow-up question.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Oh, I didn't see that. Go ahead.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: I was having trouble with the button. Some people describe what's happening as a structural problem created by app companies and their business models. Can you explain how app algorithms and deactivation policies actively undermine some of the street safety rules and the speed limits?

[Ligia Guallpa (Executive Director, Workers Justice Project)]: Yeah. So in New York City particularly, and I'm going to talk of New York City because there's been a lot of regulation on the app delivery industry. Before we pass minimum pay standard, app delivery workers in New York City are considered independent contractors. There's about 80,000 of them riding in New York, mostly this work in e bikes or motor scooters or mopeds. When there was not a minimum pay standard, app delivery worker I mean, app delivery workers were mostly paid based on tipping. So tipping was a way to compensate workers or a base pay. So there was an incentive back in the past that in order to make enough money, you needed to do as many deliveries as possible, accept every order with regardless of how far those distances will meant. Since we we passed minimum pay standard to address the issue of safety because we wanted to make sure that workers are not incentivized speeding and that they can prioritize their safety because they were being paid every time they were making that delivery. As a retaliation form, what ad delivery companies did is they created a new algorithm system. So they created a new way of punishing workers to incentivize speeding in the city of New York. And the way they're doing that is that they're using an algorithm to predetermine how fast I mean, the time limit of every delivery without taking in consideration traffic, without taking in consideration weather. So for instance, the app would predetermine that delivery worker how long should take, whether it's fifteen minutes, twenty minutes. If they don't meet that time frame, they automatically punish. And the punishment is that you get fired without due process, without explanation. So most of the delivery workers in the city Of New York feel that in order to stay in the industry, to avoid being fired, they just have to be compliant with the new algorithms. And now also the companies are creating tracking systems. So if a deliverista, for instance, is in a bathroom waiting, the app automatically sends messages why you're taking too long to make that delivery. So the apps have become more aggressive in the city Of New York to put pressure on the laboristas to speed, accept every delivery possible, and having even forcing them to travel long distances, putting not only workers' life at risk, but also the entire public. And this is why we strongly believe that we need to regulate the app delivery companies. As Abu Bakr has said, they control how far they travel. They control where do they wait for deliveries, how which routes they they should be using. And they're monitoring and punishing them if there's delays on the road, even though most of the causes of these delays are not under workers' control.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: I'm sorry. If I could just follow-up. What impact does aggressive enforcement have on immigrant delivery workers specifically? And how should the state ensure safety policy doesn't create fear or push people out of the workforce?

[Ligia Guallpa (Executive Director, Workers Justice Project)]: Yet, I have heard today a lot about accountability, that we need to hold accountable the e bike rider, right? And let's talk about who are the e bike riders in some of the cities, in New York City particularly where I serve. If you look at the numbers, most of the people who are using e bikes, the majority are people of color, are working class people. I live in The Bronx. We both live in The Bronx. If you look at who are the people who are using the e bikes, not just in The Bronx but across the city, it's black, brown people who are relying on e bikes as a main mode of public I mean, as as alternative transportation, especially when there is a lack of public transportation. So the reason I mentioned this is because when we're thinking about how we address the issue and why e bikes are so important, we need to look not at the people but how we can build the system that allow us to use this this mode of transportation across our city. And there is a lot of enforcement happening in the City Of New York. New York City has set a 50 mile per hour, for instance, that prohibits the or any e bike user to ride over 50 miles per hour. The previous mayor implemented a new policy that if you're riding on a sidewalk, you get a criminal summons. Somebody asked about what does that mean. Getting a criminal summons means that you go to criminal court. You get in a you potentially get in a criminal record. If you are an immigrant worker and you are trying you have an immigration case, that could potentially hinder your immigration case and put you in a pipeline of deportation. Right now, we have a city and we have NYPD who's predominantly creating enforcement mechanism to target black, brown people who are riding e bikes and issuing criminal summons. And this is a racial issue. This is a criminal intentionally targeting black, brown people. So we want to see a system where we want to make sure that we address the root causes of the problem. And I think we have said it again and again. There is an infrastructure issue. There's not enough e bike lanes. The streets were not designed for this type of micro mobility devices. We need to address it at the retail stores. There is an issue which devices are being sold. So retails and the manufacturers need to be held responsible because they are the ones who are putting the in vehicle devices on the streets and are not educating consumers about how to operate these devices, which devices should be on the streets, which ones are legal, and whether they're safe to be on those streets.

[Unidentified Assembly Member (possibly Jordan J.G. Wright)]: So if I can just follow-up on what you said. The streets were never redesigned for the explosion that we're seeing with the e bikes and scooters. What state level infrastructure investments are most urgent to prevent workers from being forced into traffic in cars with trucks?

[Ligia Guallpa (Executive Director, Workers Justice Project)]: So delivery zones is something we've been pushing for, especially in New York City where there is explosion of the use. New York City is super reliant on online platform deliveries. So you see explosion of e bikes, mostly majority not majority, but largely used by deliveristas. So we want to be able to see more delivery zones where deliveristas can park their e bikes, wait for their deliveries, share the street safely with pedestrians. E bike parking, that's another problem that we're seeing in the street. There's not enough of that in the city Of New York. The other one is e bike lanes. Not every neighborhood has e bike protected lanes. One of the main issues that we have seen, especially with e bike riders, is that the few protected lanes that exist in our streets often are blocked by cars or delivery trucks pushing deliveristas to be able to share the roads with cars, putting their own safety at risk. We also want to see EVAC charging station. You know, safety fires has been a big issue. So we want to see that. The other one is there is more regulation also to shift and make e micromobility safer. New York City passed a legislation that mandates that now e bikes need to be UL certified regulated, but manufacturers haven't catch up with regulation. So we need to invest and push manufacturers to produce safer, legal devices that should be available for consumers, hardworking New Yorkers, who rely on e bikes to move across the city and even to survive and make ends meet at the end of the day.

[Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky]: J. Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you both for your testimony. I really appreciate the time you've spent with us. And get back safely, Okay?

[Assemblymember Brian Cunningham]: Thank J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Eddie Cohen, co founder and president of Infinite Machine.

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: Thank you. Chair, members of the assembly, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Eddie Cohen, and I am the co founder and president of Infinite Machine, a New York based manufacturing company making the world's best designed non car vehicles. Infinite Machine is also a co chair of the Next Mile Coalition, a group working to align micro mobility industry and policy in New York City. Infinite Machine's economic impact is rooted in building real products, real jobs, and real manufacturing capability in New York We're a small team of New Yorkers working tirelessly to design, engineer, and bring advanced electric vehicles to market, supporting local suppliers, contractors, fabricators, and creative talent along the way. By investing in domestic product development, urban mobility infrastructure, and high quality manufacturing, we contribute to skilled employment, downstream small business activity, and the long term competitiveness of The US personal electric vehicle ecosystem while proving that ambitious globally relevant hardware companies can be built in cities and not extracted from them. I'm here to speak about the promise of micro mobility and to encourage the state legislator to be constructive rather than reactive in its policy approach. In general, I urge the legislature to work with experts and stakeholders to set a policy agenda that protects public safety without undermining one of New York's most powerful affordability, climate, and mobility tools. Micro mobility is no longer a niche mode. In New York City alone, an estimated 1,500,000 people cycle regularly and more than 65,000 delivery workers rely on e bikes to earn a living every day. These riders include nurses commuting off hours, parents dropping off school children, seniors making short trips, and workers in neighborhoods where transit is absent, slow, or unreliable. This legislature stands at a crossroads. You can either usher in a more sustainable and equitable mobility future by advancing policies to support the safe and widespread use of microability or overly regulate the sector and continue pushing people towards more expensive, more dangerous, and more polluting alternatives. Transportation is the second largest household expense in New York after housing. Car ownership costs the average household roughly $12,000 per year before parking expenses, tickets, or tolls. By contrast, an e bike costs pennies per trip to operate, requires no license or insurance, and avoids traffic delays altogether. For families in transit deserts, including parts of Eastern Queens, the South Bronx, Southeast Brooklyn, and Staten Island, micro mobility is one of the most affordable and realistic ways to shorten commutes that regularly exceed an hour. Research consistently shows that commute time is one of the strongest predictors of economic mobility. When we make short, reliable trips possible, we improve access to jobs, child care, and education. Let me acknowledge that when it comes to micro mobility, there are legitimate concerns about pedestrian safety, street concern conflicts, and battery fires. But these challenges are not evidence that micro mobility itself is unsafe. They are evidence that policy and infrastructure have not kept pace with that adoption. Our streets were designed for twentieth century traffic patterns, not today's mix of cars, buses, e bikes, cargo bikes, and delivery vehicles. Riders are too often forced into unsafe conditions because we have failed to build protected bike lanes, manage curb space, and provide legal charging and parking. Similarly, battery fires are not caused by e bikes broadly. They are overwhelmingly the result of an unregulated market that has allowed hazardous non certified batteries to flood our shores. This is a problem we already know how to solve by requiring equipment to meet safety standards, offering trade in programs to help low income New Yorkers upgrade to safe vehicles and deploying safe charging infrastructure. Punitive regulation that targets riders, especially low income and immigrant workers, do not improve our mobility system. They simply push people into riskier behavior or back into gas powered motorcycles or cars. The good news is that New York does not need to invent new tools. The Next Mile Coalition recently released a micromobility roadmap that outlines how to ensure micromobility works for all. The report includes proven recommendations such as adopting a risk based enforcement framework that focuses on strengthening enforcement of the greatest sources of danger: speeding, heavy cars, and trucks, not low risk micro mobility users. It also calls for accelerating deployment of physically protected bike lanes so that parents, children, and the elderly all feel safe choosing a more efficient mode. As for the state's priorities, we would like to see state legislators leading on this issue by engaging industry to set a rational policy agenda rather than cowering to the demands of the loudest constituents. For one, the state should rapidly advance A. Eighteen seventy five requiring complete street design on state and local transportation projects. As part of this bill, we should be testing new design approaches to manage speeds and behaviors of micro mobility users, an approach that has not been tried. The state should also advance the Ride Clean Rebate A281 ensuring that all participants receive road safety training. If the Assembly's goal is safer streets, fewer fires, and better quality of life, the answer is smarter regulation. Over regulating micro mobility will not eliminate transportation demand. It will instead shift riders to cars and motorcycles. Traffic will increase. Emissions will rise. Transportation costs will skyrocket. Enforcement burdens will grow and the very communities we are trying to protect will end up worse off. I urge this body to resist reactionary legislation and instead focus on standards, infrastructure, and incentives like the Complete Streets and Ride Clean rebate bills that allow micro mobility to mature safely and equitably. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you, sir. Mr. Miller has a question.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Thank you for your testimony. How many manufacturers do we have in the state currently?

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: For personal electric vehicles?

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Yep.

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: In New York City?

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: The whole state. We're talking about complete streets. That's another part of the question I have. Because complete streets is the way I understand the legislation, it's going to allow all the vehicles to come on to be used on streets for design if applicable, right? So are you worried about a patchwork of road designs all over the state for this?

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: I think that we need to take into consideration all modes of transportation and design for that. I think that we have folks on regular bikes, e bikes, cars, etcetera, and I think that we should design the streets to accommodate all users.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Okay. So that's a total redesign of the streets. But the way the now we're talking about 20 the streets that were developed many, many, many, many years ago. And they don't lend themselves to a complete street design. You know, this is gonna be a huge issue. So I think you're going in the right direction here, but I think we really need to look at how we're gonna coexist with the electric bike cars, trucks, buses, whole nine yards.

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: Yeah, I mean, I think, again, electric bikes, it's an equitable solution for all to get around. And I think that it's clearly where the world is headed. And we need to have conversations about redesigning our streets to accommodate all, everyone, not just those that are in a car.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Okay, so back to the manufacturers. I kind of skipped through all how many are there in the state? Do you

[Noah Murturko (Senior Manager, State & Local Policy, PeopleForBikes)]: know I'm unsure.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Well, how many are there in New York City?

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: I think it's just us.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: Okay, thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Go ahead.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Just real quick, I think you made reference to a recycling program for batteries and all. And that certainly is something that people don't object to and we can get to pretty quickly. I don't necessarily want to make it such that those that sell e bikes with lithium ion batteries are the ones that have to take them back because some of those people are not exactly trustworthy. So when but you ought to talk to us here in the assembly about establishing a recycling program for these lithium ion batteries. We have them for all the others. So yeah.

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: Yeah, I'm happy to chat further about this. I generally think that we should encourage recyclability. And we are a proponent of certifying batteries. So all of our products are UL certified. And we think that should be adopted by everyone as it is in legislation.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: I just

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: have a question for you. How much do you think doing safe streets across New York State will cost?

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: I have no idea.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: And my follow-up question would be, where am I getting the money?

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: Congestion pricing in New York City.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Even that, that's already been spoken for. And the third thing is, I'm not trying to be funny here, because I think the notion is the right way to go. I'm just trying to say to people, Okay, let's be reasonable. How are we going to do this? How are we going to pay for it? And my last question to you is, how long do you think it would take? If we had all the money in the world, how long would it take?

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: So I think when thinking about the cost, we should actually think more broadly around what is the economic cost of having a single person in a four person or five person capacity automobile? All the gas infrastructure, the roads that we need to build, that we need to upkeep, there are many, many costs associated with that and second, third order consequences that will be reduced if we actually encouraged single occupancy e bike driving. And I think, yes, there are costs in the immediate term. And we would need to figure out where to get that money. Let's assume we had the money. I think that there is a way to fast track this and do it within the next two to three years.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Seriously, safe

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: I'm optimistic. Believe New York State. I believe in the city. I believe in the state.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: You send me the memo on how you plan to do that, Okay? Because I will definitely read it, I promise you, Okay? I don't have any other questions. Anybody else? And thank you very much for your testimony. I'm serious. It's a very serious issue, one that this committee has taken very to heart, Okay?

[Eddie Cohen (Co‑Founder & President, Infinite Machine)]: Thank you so much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: All righty. All right. And now we have Mr. David Hammer, co founder and CEO of Pop Wheels. When you're ready,

[Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon]: it's J. All

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: There we go. All right. Good afternoon, Chair Magnarelli, ranking Miller ranking member Miller, and members of the assembly. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I'm particularly excited to testify in front of a legislator who personally drilled into a lithium ion battery. That is certainly a first for me, so it's really exciting. Let's talk about things that go boom. For the last several years, New York has been responding to lithium ion battery fires as though they were an inevitable side effect of micro mobility. I'm here today to say they are not. They are caused by unmanaged batteries being charged unsafely and because people have no safe alternative. My name is David Hammer and I'm the co founder and president of Pop Wheels, a New York, a Brooklyn based actually, member, Simon's district company that's built around a simple premise, which is that if you change where and how batteries are charged, you can solve the fire crisis. Over the last four years, as you may know, lithium ion batteries have ravaged New York. FDNY reports over 500 fires from 2003 '23 to '24, resulting in twenty four fatalities. In 2025, that number reportedly increased by twenty five percent. My company, Pop Wheels, addresses this problem by getting delivery workers and e mobility writers of all stripes out of the business of owning and charging batteries entirely. Instead, they subscribe to a citywide network of FDY approved fire safe kiosks where a depleted battery can be swapped for a fully charged one in under a minute. And it works. Not simply because the batteries are UL certified, though they are, or because the kiosks can extinguish battery fires, which they can, but because battery swapping moves batteries from being privately owned assets to fully managed ones. In one recent study we did with the New York City DOT, nearly 90% of people who participate in the pilot completely stopped charging their batteries at home and entirely used Popular's batteries from Popular stations. There is no more effective intervention for this crisis. Crucially, this model also meets the financial needs of delivery workers. To give one example, Sergio Solano, an immigrant from Mexico who's been working as delivery driver in New York for nearly fifteen years, told us that before using us, he spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours managing batteries and waiting for them to charge. I think you heard some of that echoed from some of the previous testimony from Lihiya and Abubakar. Today, with on demand access to safe charged batteries, he pays less out of pocket than he was for those batteries and on top of that he earns more because he no longer has to wait for his batteries to charge and he no longer worries about charging batteries in his home. As he put it to us, battery swapping brought peace of mind to his family. For Sergio and hundreds of others, this is not just the future of micro mobility, it's already here. In less than a year since receiving our approvals, We have deployed dozens of swap stations and more than a thousand batteries completing over a 100,000 battery swaps in New York City. That is a 100,000 times that a battery was charged in safe infrastructure instead of a bedroom or a basement or a bodega and demand continues to skyrocket through word-of-mouth alone. This success is the result of close collaboration between the public and private sectors. We've been receiving guidance from city, state, and federal lit leaders. One thing I want to particularly call out is that 90% of our deployments to date have been supported through the CONED Micro Mobility Incentive Program that was authorized through the State Public Service Commission. That has been essential in getting this infrastructure out. This goes beyond New York City as well. This same safe battery infrastructure unlocks a wealth of new uses from decarbonizing food carts to powering campus mobility to even things like energy storage with applications from Binghamton to Ithaca to Buffalo and beyond. Importantly, it shows that New York does not have to choose between restrictive regulation and public safety. Targeted evidence based policy that's in collaboration with the private sector can mitigate the most serious risks while building a safer system for everyone. With that in mind, we respectfully urge the assembly to consider two points. First, battery safety and e bike safety are related but they are ultimately distinct and they do require distinct policy tools. Battery fires come from batteries, not bicycles, and measures like licensing speed limits or replacing bicycles will not stop them. Safe regulated outdoor charging and swapping will. When this issue is ignored, unsafe batteries are pushed into basements, backrooms, and improvised charging spaces, places that are harder to regulate and far more dangerous during a fire. Second, we need to move battery charging out of the home and now is the time we can act. We urge consideration of incentive programs that transition batteries from privately owned assets to managed assets including trade ins and buybacks for uncertified batteries and continued financial support for certified charging and swatting infrastructure. Authorizing or encouraging the use of state owned land and facilities will be transformative like vending machines. This infrastructure requires very little space to serve hundreds of users a day. Chair Magnarelli and members of the assembly, thank you for your leadership and attention to this urgent issue. With the right policy support, New York can lead the nation in solving this problem. I appreciate the opportunity to testify, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Well, I've got to say that was impressive. Okay. I'm still at a loss. Why is the problem still there if you've been operating for a couple of years and it's so successful in what it does?

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: It's a great question. Okay. We received our FDNY permit to operate in New York City roughly at the 2025. Before that, we were operating on a very limited pilot basis with New York City DOT. We only had two or three stations. POPEOLS currently serves roughly a thousand delivery workers in New York. We are aggressively building out our deployments, our footprint, both in New York and also exploring other markets within New York State where we can deploy this. But it does take time to secure all the necessary permits and approvals in order to do this. We are trying to be sure we are maximally compliant with every element of law here. And that does mean that that takes time to ramp up. But we are pushing hard to get that number from thousands to tens of thousands of delivery workers so that you can see a real difference in the numbers.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Wouldn't this require like, for example, in New York City is where most of the fires have occurred, not all of them, I think, from the batteries?

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. Yes, absolutely. J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Okay. So like acquiring land and things like that to put your kiosks or facilities on, I would think, would be a municipality to municipality type of endeavor. Am I right?

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. Absolutely. So we J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Is state one. Whereas incentivizing how do I incentivize? What do I do? Buy back the batteries and give them to you, the bad batteries? Mean, what do I do with them? I don't want them.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: As a

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: state, I definitely don't want them. How do I do that? J.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Yep. So there's a couple of things you touched on. I think they're all good ideas. So first of when it comes to land, the state does own and manage land all across New York state, up and down. And there are opportunities to provide directives to ESD or other organizations to But

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: you want want to to create accommodations. So it's got to be like, if you're operating in New York City, you don't want to be on Long Island with a piece of state land.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. That's absolutely right. We're definitely looking to be where users are. And not just for delivery workers. We would love to be on Long Island, and we'd love to be, you know, in Suffolk County, and we'd love to be, you know, up in, know, up in the Finger Lakes region. And we think there's utility for cities all across New York. And so, certainly, we need to make sure this is well matched to where the needs are. In terms of subsidy opportunities, so as mentioned, the state already has, through DPS

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Slow down so I can I am very fast? Okay.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Through the Public Service Commission, the state is already providing a financial incentive to allow us to recoup a lot of the costs the way that you do with EV charging. And that's been successful. And part of what I'm here to say is that that is already making a dent, we just urge continued support of that.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Continue it. Okay.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Beyond that, yes, we've actually worked with a number of organizations in the past privately to run programs where we tell people, bring in your old batteries. Bring in your dangerous batteries. We will take them. We will recycle them. We will ensure that they get off the streets. And from that day forward, you're only using certified safe Pop Wheels batteries that are we have that we can fully manage their life cycle, start to finish.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: You will recharge them.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: That's right.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: That's impressive.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: J. It's very impressive.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Yeah. Okay. I have no further questions except to say, how come everybody isn't using you now?

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. We're working on it.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. M. Okay. Anybody? Yes, go ahead.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: I think, man, I could have used you years ago when I was pumping through lithium ion batteries and before that and ICADS and so on. I think it's a great and wonderful thing that you're doing. I've got a couple of questions. Just out of interest, obviously, wattage batteries and so on like that. What's the price for somebody to exchange a battery, roughly the range of it?

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. Yep. So when a customer signs up for Pop Wheels, they're paying a monthly fee. And they can check out batteries from any of our kiosks around the city. When it's fully depleted, they return that battery, and they get a new one back. That monthly fee is $75 a month, which what we have heard again from many of our customers is about 600 to $700 a year less than what they currently have to pay to buy and manage batteries today.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. Yeah, I think I have to answer the chairman's question about why not everybody is doing it. Number one, not everybody's using legit batteries, batteries that you want to take back and so on like that. Number two, immediately took it. When you're searching for property, you're searching for property where you can do this refurbishing of the batteries themselves. You can't do it downstairs in some apartment and so on like that.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. I do want to clarify. When a customer signs up for Pop Wheels, we don't ever use their batteries in our battery swapping system. So those batteries are completely disposed of, recycled, completely right? We'd your point, anything that any you know, we've seen enough delivery work or just e bike batteries in general to know that there's plenty of people out there who are doing all sorts of crazy things to them and we don't. So those are fully disposed of and fully recycled. The batteries that they're using are owned and operated by us. And so we have a very strong sense of quality control around them.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. Now, that's going to require universal connection for those. I'm assuming that's another one of those things that you're getting around to being as people want to participate in your program, they need to have that type of connection and so on like that, correct?

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: J. One of the reasons that we've initially focused on the delivery worker community, even though we think this has much broader application, is that the reality is that the vast majority of delivery workers in New York use two models of e bike. And that allows us to basically offer compatible batteries, drop incompatible that require no modification to in order to use our batteries. One of the most energizing for me elements of getting this live has been to watch customers show up having already modified a bike that wasn't compatible, say, I want this so much. I've changed my bike. I've got a new bike so that I can use this service.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: Right.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: So we are absolutely passionate about we think it benefits the entire industry for there to be more universal compatibility and we want to be on the side of that in the same way that with mobile phones, USB C has made everyone's life a lot easier because we all now don't have to worry about what charge cable you have. So that's certainly a vision of what we're trying to get to. But yes, to your point, we're laddering up to that by working closely with manufacturers to ensure we're aligned.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: J. And the final thing I will say to you is I truly, truly believe this is a fantastic program. And I hope you take the time to come and see many of us, if not all of us, where we can help you forward this program and make batteries a lot safer across New York State and all. We'd love to help you out.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: G. We'd love to be your partner. Thank you so much.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you very much. We appreciate your testimony.

[Assemblymember Brian D. Miller (Ranking Member)]: J. M.

[David Hammer (Co‑Founder & President, Pop Wheels)]: Thanks a lot, folks. J.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: M. Okay. Melinda Hansen, senior advisor, Upway, to end the meeting.

[Melinda Hansen (Senior Advisor, Upway)]: Last but not least.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Absolutely. You go right ahead.

[Melinda Hansen (Senior Advisor, Upway)]: Yeah. Thank you all for sticking around. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Melinda Hansen, and I'm a senior advisor to Upway, a certified e bike resale platform operating across Europe and The United States. We have a large warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where we currently employ more than 30 people and intend to grow to 60 by the end of the year. Upway aims to be the carvana of micro mobility, bringing high quality, affordable vehicles within reach for all. We're also co chair of the Next Mile Coalition, where our goal is to align micro mobility industry and policy. I'm here today to speak in support of micro mobility and urge New York State to pursue a sensible regulatory framework that enables these vehicles to scale responsibly. Micromobility is already a critical part of our state's transportation system, and there's a ton of room for growth. In New York State, across the state, over half of all car trips are under three miles. And in New York City, more than 20% of car trips are under one mile, distances that are often faster, cheaper, and more reliable by e bike or other micro mobility vehicle. Across the state, a lack of complete street infrastructure is forcing families to own multiple cars, which today cost an average of $1,000 per month per car. All right. E bikes and other micro mobility vehicles offer an affordable alternative. In suburban areas, they're already allowing families to transition from two car to one car households. In transit deserts, they're helping residents run errands and connect to buses and trains. Now, this is, of course, a relatively new transportation mode, and there are obviously challenges. But these challenges are surmountable, and we have strong international evidence that micromobility works when supported by smart policy. Across Europe, particularly in countries such as The Netherlands, Germany, and France, governments have chosen to support e bikes and other small electric vehicles. They've invested in protected infrastructure and created enforceable vehicle classifications. They've used street design to encourage safe riding. They've created low emission zones to limit car use and incentives to support residents and businesses to access high quality certified vehicles. As a result, e bikes are now widely used by senior seniors, parents, commuters, businesses, not as a novelty, but as everyday transportation. New York should do what we can to follow this example. We strongly urge the assembly to advance the Complete Streets bill and the Ride Clean Rebate bill. We've seen time and time again that Complete Street design makes roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Meanwhile, the Ride Clean Rebate would provide subsidies to support New Yorkers to access certified e bikes, an approach that has been phenomenally successful in places like Denver, where each new round of rebate sells out faster than Taylor Swift tickets. If structured correctly, this rebate program could also help to get non certified e bikes and illegal emotos off the streets, which brings me, of course, to a very important point that's been made repeatedly here. We need to do more to stop the sale of unregistered and unlicensed e motos and mopets. To date, a lack of enforcement has allowed some bad actors to market these vehicles as e bikes, which is already against New York state law. One of these vehicles from online brand Mauve Can was involved in a fatal crash in Brooklyn of October. News articles covering the tragedy referred to the vehicle as an e bikes. But looking at the website, the specs listed do not meet the legal definition. This is a common occurrence that is giving legal e bikes a bad name, and we encourage this body to do more to enforce the current law. A policy approach that should be firmly off the table is anything resembling New Jersey's recent bill to treat micro mobility like cars by imposing licensing, registration, and insurance requirements. Class one and two e bikes typically weigh under 100 pounds and are capped at 20 mile per hour, the legal ones are, posing roughly the same level of risk as a traditional bicycle. By contrast, cars and SUVs weigh 4,000 to 6,000 pounds. While that mask may protect occupants, it creates vastly greater danger for everyone else on the road. Applying auto style regulation to e bikes would erect unnecessary barriers to adoption, burden the DMV with low value bureaucracy, and divert limited enforcement resources away from the vehicles that cause the most serious harm. Finally, I wanna highlight the economic opportunity here for New York State. Supporting micromobility is not just about transportation. It is also about innovation, jobs, and global competitiveness. The consulting firm McKinsey estimates that the micromobility industry will be worth $340,000,000,000 by 2030. The states that provide regulatory clarity and supportive policy will attract companies, capital, and skilled workers. Upway is one example. With the right policy environment, we plan to expand operations in New York, creating hundreds of local jobs in management, maintenance, logistics, and customer support. A clear regulatory framework gives companies like ours a certainty needed to invest. In closing, micromobility is a practical solution to some of New York's most urgent challenges, affordability, congestion, climate pollution, and access to opportunity. I urge the subcommittee to engage with advocates and the private sector to set policies so that small vehicles can play a big role in New York's transportation and economic future. Thank you for your time.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: J. Thank you. Appreciate your time and your testimony. And I think you have ended this committee hearing. We really appreciate your waiting all this time to give us your comments.

[Assemblymember Jodi Giglio]: My pleasure.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: And I appreciate them. We will take them all into consideration.

[Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero]: Thank you.

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: Thank you very much.

[Assemblymember Scott Bendett]: I think you gave the chairman a reason to take us to Europe to see these complete straight situations, or at least to Denver, Colorado.

[Melinda Hansen (Senior Advisor, Upway)]: Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we can help take you guys there, show you around. So no questions for me?

[Assemblymember William B. Magnarelli (Chair, Assembly Transportation Committee)]: A lot of the things that you've talked about in your testimony have already been reviewed. So I think people want to get on the road. Thank you very much.