BILL NUMBER: S6609

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in
relation to the operation or riding upon a bicycle with electric assist
by persons under the age of sixteen

 
PURPOSE:

To authorize electric bicycles and electric scooters under New York law.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 102 of the vehicle and traffic law to include
bicycles with electric assist as a type of bicycle and defines a bicycle
with electric assist by reference to the model national three-class
standard for electric bicycles.

Section 2 defines an electric scooter as a device weighing less than one
hundred pounds that (a) has handlebars, a floorboard that can be stood
upon by the operator, and an electric motor (b) is powered by the elec-
              

tric motor and/or human power, and (c) has a maximum speed of no more
than twenty miles per hour on a paved level surface when powered solely
by the electric motor.

Section 3 amends section 125 of the vehicle and traffic law to define a
motor vehicle to not include bicycles with electric assist or electric
scooters, in line with how bicycles are defined.

Section 4 amends section 159 of the vehicle and traffic law to define a
vehicle to not include bicycles with electric assist or electric scoot-
ers, in line with how bicycles are defined.

Section 5 amends the vehicle and traffic law by adding new section 1242
to include additional provisions applicable to bicycles with electric
assist. New section 1243 is added to allow the governing body of any
city, town, or village to authorize and regulate shared bicycle systems
or shared bicycle with electric assist systems within such city, town,
or village.

Section 6 creates a new article 34-D applicable to the operation of
electric scooters, adopting the framework of article 34 applicable to
the operation of bicycles. It grants persons riding electric scooters
the rights and duties to riders of bicycles, creates lighting and equip-
ment requirements for electric scooters similar to bicycles, and prohib-
its leaving the scene of an incident, similar to bicycles. The governing
body of any city, town, or village would be allowed to authorize and
regulate shared electric scooter systems within such city, town, or
village.

Section 8 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation authorizes e-bicycles and e-scooters in New York.
These zero-emission devices are safe, sustainable, and affordable,
unlocking the right of mobility for a wide segment of New Yorkers.


Because of the widespread appeal of these devices, over 100 cities have
witnessed substantial reductions in automobile traffic that enables them
to achieve their congestion, environmental, and safety goals. For exam-
ple, pilot e-micromobility programs in cities like Phoenix, Denver, and
Portland have eliminated thousands of car trips from their streets
everyday.

The appeal of e-bicycles and e-scooters is driven by widespread adoption
among demographics facing barriers to other modes of transportation,
including lower-income riders, female riders, and riders of color. Thou-
sands of food delivery workers in New York City rely on e-bicycles to
earn a living wage, while studies of shared e-scooter pilots show that
almost half of riders earn less than $50,000 a year.

New York is one of the last states left in the country that has yet to
legalize and define e-bicycles and e-scooters. This lack of definition
has created confusion over how these low-speed devices should be regu-
lated, causing New York cities to fall behind the rest of the country in
adopting this next generation of micro-mobility.

This bill takes the consensus approach that other states have taken in
regulating e-bicycles and e-scooters - by treating them similar to bicy-
cles. This approach has been consistently embraced across the country
because granting e-bicycles and e-scooters all the rights and duties of
bicycles is an intuitive and simple approach to legislation that is
easiest for riders to understand, while immediately creating reasonable
expectations for drivers, pedestrians, and others sharing the road.

This approach is also borne out by safety data. Studies of both e-bicy-
cles and e-scooter safety have consistently shown them to be as safe or
safer than bicycling. For example, the City of Portland has conducted a
comprehensive safety study of shared e-scooters and concluded not only
that e-scooters posed no more risk than any other mode of transporta-
tion, but that their widespread adoption meant that they could in fact
"contribute to a reduction in.serious injuries and fatalities."

This legislation preserves local authority over their own streets and
sidewalks, allowing them to decide for themselves how to integrate these
exciting new transportation technologies into their transportation
networks.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill in the Senate.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the eightieth day after it shall have
become a law provided, however, that sections three-a, four-a and
seven-a shall take effect on the two hundred seventieth day after this
act shall have become a law; provided further that section eight of this
act shall expire and be deemed repealed two hundred seventy days after
it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the additional,
amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be
made and completed on or before such effective date.